Johannesburg, Dec. 14: South Africa captain Graeme Smith has termed Sachin Tendulkar as “great ambassador of the game” and said his desire to become a cricketer got wings after watching the Indian batting maestro during his childhood.
Smith was a 11-year-old kid when Tendulkar first toured the Rainbow nation following the country’s readmission to the international fold after decades of isolation because of apartheid.
On Thursday, Smith will lead South Africa in the first Test against India in what could well be Tendulkar’s last tour to the country. “He (Tendulkar) is a world class player and a great ambassador for the game. As a youngster I watched the games and that’s where all my dreams started. You see the players (like Tendulkar) on TV and you want to be like that one day, and here we are,” Smith reminisced at an official reception for the Indian team on Monday.