Sachin greatest ever, says Pietersen

England batsman Kevin Pietersen reckons Sachin Tendulkar is the "greatest ever" to have graced the game of cricket.

Pietersen was in Noida on a visit to Amity University campus, where he gave tips to budding cricketers.

Later, in an interaction with the students, when asked what would be his IPL team Delhi Daredevils' strategy against Tendulkar, when they take on Mumbai Indians in their next Indian Premier League match on Friday, he replied, "Sachin is a magnificent player. He is the greatest player ever played. In Twenty20, anything can happen. It's hard to predict a result and we will try to win two points," the South Africa-born English cricketer told a packed auditorium.

Asked whether he was inspired by any cricketer, Pietersen replied, "I don't follow anybody. I grew up in South Africa and loved watching Jonty Rhodes, Hansie Cronje. Other than that I liked Mark Waugh. There are a few people I enjoy watching them play, but I can't be somebody else."

Pietersen was also asked to compare playing at Lord's and the Ferozshah Kotla.

He said, "Lord's is traditional, English. There are knowledgeable people. At Kotla it is intense, loud. I have lot of respect for crowd here. It's loudest than any other [venue]."

He felt India was lucky to have two great batsmen in Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag playing at the same time.

KP, as he is popularly known, played with Dravid when he was with Royal Challengers Bangalore and is now playing alongside Sehwag.

"Rahul is a magnificent player. It is a privilege to have played with these players. India is lucky to have these great men. It's great to play in Bangalore and Delhi," he signed off.

Australia's Aaron Finch was asked by a girl student if he knew some words in Hindi. The Victoria player said he knew, "theek hai, chalo chalo and some bad Hindi words," which obviously he did not say in front of the students.