Sachin on Sanath

They are rivals when opening for their countries but Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya have come together to form a formidable opening combination for the Mumbai Indians. Shriniwas Rao asked Tendulkar a few questions on Jayasuriya in the Times of India.

Your views on Sanath Jayasuriya, the cricketer...

I had always known Sanath and admired him for his cricketing abilities. I knew him as an opponent, a fierce one, whose natural instincts make him one of the most dangerous of all times. He is a naturally gifted player and has the ability to dominate a game single-handedly. He has the shots, the power and the timing.

Now that the two of you are teammates, what is the general discussion that goes on between the two?

Of course, we discuss a lot of things between ourselves, but mostly we’ve done a lot of that over the last many years. We like to exchange notes, talk about the game in general. Now with him and me in the same squad, we discuss more about what we’re going to do as a pair. Plan ahead of the game, prepare, study the weaknesses of the opponent and strategise accordingly.