"Sachin Tendulkar is in my time the best player without doubt," said Australian spin wizard Shane Warne about the Indian batting maestro.
Warne said what makes Tendulkar so special is the "way he uses the crease".
"He goes right forward or right back. He bats with both feet behind the crease to me. Most people have one foot either side. So he plays cut shots off good length balls, but when he gets forward, he still gets right forward.
"I have got him out three or four times, but the ratio of hundreds... he is way ahead in our battles," says Warne in an interview in the 'Herald Sun'.
Warne, who once famously commented that Tendulkar gave him nightmares, also reveals his special off-field rapport with the record-breaking Indian.
"I speak to him all the time, not just when we are in India. In India you have a billion people. Every single one of them, as long as they can speak, knows Sachin. The way he goes about his work is as good as anyone I have seen in international cricket," gushes the leg-spinner.
"We both like Ferraris and cars in general. He drives an X5 BMW and so do I. We have similar tastes in music but not food. I'm not sure he's big into tinned spaghetti and beans. He likes lobsters."
Although a big celebrity himself, Warne feels his profile "pales into insignificance" when compared to Tendulkar's.
"Mine pales into insignificance what he puts up with in India. He loves walking down the street in Australia when no one recognises him. He enjoys touring."
According to Warne the most amazing thing about Tendulkar is that he remembers every shot he plays. "He can be watching a replay of a game 13 years ago and say, 'This will be a cut'. It's amazing, really."
Asked if Rahul Dravid, the ICC Player of the Year, should now be rated as good as Tendulkar, Warne said, "Tendulkar is in my time the best player, without doubt. Daylight second. Brian Lara third. Rahul is in the best form of his career, but I would never say anyone is better than Sachin because I don't think they are."
Warne, currently in India for the four-Test series starting in Bangalore on Wednesday, said the secret to getting Dravid out lies in dismissing him early.
"You have to get him early. I think I have got him five times in Tests and most times he has been bowled or caught behind. That's just the way he plays early -- he opens up.
"I can get him by drifting the ball across him, but he is playing better than he ever has so it won't be easy."
Warne, who has had forgettable outings on previous tours of India, said this time he was fit and ready to go.
"I don't feel as if I have something to prove over here. I have been inconsistent here. I have had some absolute shockers, but it doesn't mean I can't bowl and I am no good. The conditions here are so hot, sometimes you can't execute what you want to. But this is the first time I have come to this country fit and ready to go."
