She calls him the god of cricket and as Sachin Tendulkar completes 20 years of a glorious international career on Sunday, melody queen Lata Mangeshkar hopes the batting maestro plays for another 10 years before even considering retirement.
A self-confessed Tendulkar fan, Mangeshkar said she wants the veteran right-hander to win the 2011 World Cup for India.
"I want Sachin to win the 2011 World Cup. Not only that, I wish he continues as long as he is playing well, hopefully at least for the next 10 years. He has a lot of cricket left in him," Mangeshkar said.
Mangeshkar said she gets upset every time there is speculation about Tendulkar's retirement.
"I don't know why people start talking about his retirement despite the fact that he is playing so well. I don't like any criticism directed at Sachin. People go after him if he fails to score once in a while. Even I sometimes sing songs which don't do well, does that mean I should retire?" she asked.
"I think we should support him as much as we can so that he continues for his fans. There is no doubt that every batting record in cricket will be his," she said.
"He has made records that I don't think anybody would be able to break but he would continue to script new success stories as he goes along," she added.
Asked if she considered Tendulkar as the world's greatest batsman, Mangeshkar said, "Sir Donald Bradman has acknowledged Sachin's greatness, can I say more? Bradman saw glimpses of himself in Sachin, I don't think there is any better compliment for him than this."
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