Privileged to have coached Sachin Tendulkar, says Lance Klusener

Former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener said that it was an honour to coach Sachin Tendulkar back when he was the batting coach of Mumbai Indians for three years. He also added that coaching the legendary batsman after having played against him for years was one of the highlights of his career.

The left-handed batsman, who was South Africa's consultant during the England Test series heaped praise on Tendulkar. “Special players never stop learning. After going out to bat at the start of a session, Sachin would dig deep right till the end. We always tend to forget that the very best in the business always work the hardest. It was a privilege to coach him,” he said.

Klusener, who has taken on ace bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar and Glenn McGrath at the height of their prowess, said that batsmen have to be inventive with their shots to survive in the shortest format of the game.

“As a batsman you have to be innovative to survive in T20s. You just can’t block a bowler like Anil Kumble and think you can take on the others. It’s about believing in your abilities. The modern batsmen are powerful, fit and execute shots with great confidence,” he added.

The 44-year-old ended his career in 2004 with an ODI batting average of 41.00, one of the best among South African batsmen. The Durban-born cricketer won the Man of the Tournament award for his heroics in the 1999 World Cup and was voted the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2000 for his phenomenal big-hitting skills.

According to him, Caribbean cricketers like Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo are currently the best all-rounders in the international circuit.

"Windies have some of the best in the world. All-rounders like Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard and Carlos Braithwaite have done pretty well for the team and their World Twenty20 triumph was praiseworthy."

Klusener took up coaching after his retirement and was the head coach of the Dolphins cricket team till 2015 and was also roped in by the Mumbai Indians. The South African had turned down an offer to take over as the coach of the Bangladesh cricket team because his family was sceptical about moving to the country.

Klusener, who is currently in Chennai to guide young cricketers in the coaching camp organised by Golden Goose, said that he was looking forward to some serious coaching in the future and also hoped to get back to the IPL soon.