'Watching Tendulkar excel against spin convinced me'

Watching a young Sachin Tendulkar excel against spinners Arshad Ayub and Venkatapathy Raju on a rank-turner in a Ranji Trophy match convinced former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar about the bright future of his junior teammate.

Vengsarkar, who played alongside Tendulkar for India and Mumbai, reminisced the long partnership he had with the latter against Hyderabad. 

"I remember, we were playing against Hyderabad at Hyderabad on a turning track. Arshad Ayub and Venkatapathy Raju were bowling. They were very good and me and Sachin had a long partnership," he said, during the launch of the book -- ‘Fab Five The Pandavas of India's Batting' in Mumbai on Saturday.

The alliance gave him enough clues about the path ahead for Tendulkar.

"He was going so well on a turning track. I thought he was going to go places and that is what happened."

Vengsarkar, a former Chairman of Selectors, also dug out a nugget from that famous Ranji Trophy final between Mumbai and Haryana in 1991.

"There was this match in 1991 against Haryana -- the Ranji Trophy final -- and the way he batted…we were chasing 355 and we were 22 for three wickets (34/3).

"The way he played in that innings was absolutely brilliant. We could have won the game had he stayed there a couple of overs more," said Vengsarkar, who scored a valiant 139 while Tendulkar got 96.

In one of the most memorable Ranji Trophy finals, domestic giants Mumbai lost by a mere two runs against Kapil Dev-led Haryana.

Vengsarkar also remembered that former India skipper Sourav Ganguly, who made his ODI debut in January 1992, was initially picked as a ‘fourth seamer' during the tour of Australia.

"On that tour he was selected as the fourth seamer and he was asked to go to the nets. After two deliveries, he said, ‘I am not a bowler and I want to bat'.

"Ganguly was told that he was picked as the fourth seamer. But he did not get opportunities on that tour. After a few years, he was picked for the tour of England."

He also praised former India skipper and T20 World Cup-winning coach Rahul Dravid for the gradual improvement he made as a player.

"Every batsman must improvise. You cannot bat in the first gear all the time. You have to bat in the second, third and the fourth gear. As the years passed by, Rahul improved tremendously and was one of the best batsmen in the world," Vengsarkar said.

The Mumbaikar also said VVS Laxman's 281 against Australia in Kolkata in 2001 was ‘important', as it changed India's mentality.

"It was very important because India won against Australia. They were a strong team that time. Rahul also played very well."