Watch: Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting share memories with Sachin Tendulkar and wish him on his 50th birthday

On meeting Sachin for the first time: The first time I saw him was in U-15 camps in Indore a long time ago. He used to use very heavy bats then and we spent a month in the camp together training and you could see that he was a special player.

An anecdote about Sachin Tendulkar: Many I think when he first asked me to open against South Africa in Jaipur India were not finding an opening batter and he said why won’t you open I said I would love it and obviously it was a different story for me in my career and it was the same thing with Sachin, he batted number six in one-day cricket and then when they made him open in one-day cricket he became a world champion and our partnership started.

Birthday wishes: Welcome to the club. I got into the club last year he is in the club now. Lots of love from me and my family because I have known them very very closely for a long period of time. Hope he has a great birthday.

Ricky Ponting

On meeting Sachin for the first time: I heard about him 88/89 not sure when Sachin actually debuted. India was touring Australia. And I said to the head coach Rod Marsh at the time. I want to be on the ground when India was training. I want to sit at the back of the net and watch Sachin bat.

An anecdote about Sachin Tendulkar: Look I have so many memories of playing against him. One thing which probably stands out most about Sachin was his mental strength. Remember the Test match in Sydney he has been caught behind a few times in the series before we bowled him full and wide he knicked a couple through the keeper and slipped. He came out publically before the Sydney Test and said he was not going to play a cover drive that is not possible because we are going to bowl full and wide you are going to play cover drive at some stage. He might have once he was about 220s. I think he made 240. To not have a play a cover drive for 8-10 hours was probably special.

Also Read

India vs West Indies, 5th T20 Highlights: King finishes off with a 6, WI ...

India vs West Indies 5th T20 Live Streaming: When and where to watch IND ...

India vs West Indies 4th T20 Highlights: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal s...

‘Losing is good sometimes….in hindsight, one series doesn’t matter’: Hard...

Birthday wishes: Post the age of 40 I am not sure too many of them are happy with the birthdays that we have. But it is a wonderful milestone mate. The Mumbai people and the Indian people will really get behind and celebrate what is a pretty special milestone in your life.