South Africa captain Graeme Smith termed Sachin Tendulkar as “great ambassador of the game” and said his desire to become a cricketer got wings after watching the Indian batting maestro during his childhood.

Smith was a 11-year-old kid when Tendulkar first toured the Rainbow nation following the country’s readmission to the international fold after decades of isolation because of apartheid.

But on Thursday (16th December 2010), Smith will lead South Africa in the first Test against India at Centurion in what could well be Tendulkar’s last tour to the country.

“He (Tendulkar) is a world class player and a great ambassador for the game,” Smith said as he reminisced at an official reception for the Indian cricket team last night.

“As a youngster I watched the games and that’s where all my dreams started. You see the players (like Tendulkar) on TV and you think that I want to be like that one day, and here we are,” he said.

India is presently touring South Africa for three Tests, five ODIs and one-off Twenty20 International.

Tags: Graeme Smith, sachin tendulkar

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