Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen ever to play the game of cricket and his records speak for himself years after he decided to hang up his cricketing boots. Tendulkar finished his marathon career as the highest run-getter in Tests as well as ODIs. He is the only cricketer in the world to have 100 international centuries against his name.
On the other hand, in football, Lionel Messi is regarded by many as the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). He is the only footballer in the world to have ever won the coveted Ballon d’Or award for the Player of the Year six times.
Speaking in a Facebook live chat session with Khaleej Times, out of favour Indian batsman Suresh Raina compared Tendulkar with Messi.
“I am a big fan of Messi. He is so down to earth, Both Sachin and Messi are very good when it comes to taking care of people around them because in sports you need to be really humble,” he said.
“You may be the number one player in the world, but your legacy is very important, You need to show gratitude to everyone,” he added.
Meanwhile, Raina also added that it was Tendulkar’s calmness that helped the Indian team win the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.
“With Sachin, it’s always about his calmness. It was because of Sachin that we won the World Cup. He was the guy who made everyone in the team believe that we can do that, He was like the second coach in the team,” he said