Warne is 'God's gift to cricket' - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar has praised Shane Warne by calling him `God's gift to cricket'. He has also predicted that Australia would retain their superpower status even after their current ageing crop of players retire.

"[Warne] plays his cricket the hard way and has the ability to bounce back from the dead. He's God's gift to cricket," Tendulkar was quoted as saying by Inside Cricket. "How many guys can bowl like him and how many guys can be as exciting as him? I'm least worried about what he does in his private life. It's his life. On the field he has delivered incredibly."

Tendulkar said that Australia's bench strength was the reason they would remain a formidable force even after Warne's retirement. "They have a very high standard of domestic cricket in Australia. We haven't seen many [new] players because it's tough to break into the Australian side. But as and when it does happen, I'm sure they will be equally good."

Sachin Tendulkar, who has outstanding averages of 53.11 and 49.02 against Australia in Tests and ODIs respectively, has not recovered fully from a surgery he underwent for a tennis elbow. As a result he will miss the Super Series against Australia in October 2005. Tendulkar had been selected in both the Test and ODI squads for the Super Series.