Mumbai, June 3: Legendary West Indies batsman Sir Vivian Richards has hailed Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman in the world above some of the contemporary and all-time greats.

“I didn’t see Don [Bradman] but to me, in all my years associated with the game, I haven’t seen a better batsman than Sachin Tendulkar,” said Richards of Tendulkar, who in turn idolised Richards while growing up in Mumbai.

“If there is a better batsman than Sachin, then he hasn’t arrived yet,” the prolific Richards said.

Richards rated the Indian icon above his contemporaries such as Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis and even above legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Javed Miandad.

Sir Don, in a career spanning 20 years, including a few years disrupted by the Second World War, scored 29 centuries in 52 Tests. Tendulkar, on the other hand, is already into his 22nd year of international cricket and has 99 international centuries in all formats of the game to his name.

Talking about the uniqueness of Tendulkar’s career, Richards said, “To me the most remarkable thing about Tendulkar is how he has completed the full cycle of his cricketing career, overcoming, pain, agony, failures, fatigue, injuries yet continuing relentlessly till the point the circle was complete.

“He is the most complete package, the cricketer I respect more than anyone else.”

Supporting Tendulkar’s decision to skip India’s tour to West Indies, Richards, who attended a promotional event at Queen’s Park Oval on Thursday, was quoted as saying, “He is 37 and not getting any younger. You have got to respect him for his decision.”

“He has done enough to decide what is best for him. He knows his commitments and the approach he must take for the rest of his career,” he added.

Sir Viv did, however, concede that Tendulkar’s presence would have had a great impact on the young West Indies team. “It would have been fantastic for the young boys to just watch him in action; how he prepares his innings; the way he goes about building his knock, overcoming conditions and opponents. It could have been an invaluable experience for our young batsmen.”

While appreciating another fine Indian cricketer he said, “The other day, I was on a flight to London and [Gautam] Gambhir was with me. I was really touched by his curiosity and the keenness he had to know about batting. It’s passion such as this which sets men like him apart. I was really impressed.”

Commenting on the ongoing upheaval around the West Indies Cricket Board Richards said pithily, “It’s a fragile environment. Only strong leaders can accept independent men”.