Dravid’s retirement has created a huge void, impossible to find an able replacement at No. 3: Tendulkar

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar is of the opinion that Rahul Dravid has been an incredible player and that his retirement has left a huge void in the Indian cricket team. According to the Little Master, it would be impossible to find an able replacement for such an "incredible" player, says a report in The Indian Express.

Dravid has amassed more runs at No 3 than anyone in the history of Test cricket, including the likes of Sir Donald Bradman and Ricky Ponting.

"You need someone to be dedicated, be committed and disciplined. The entire country will miss him because we were all used to Rahul padding up batting at number 3. So obliviously these things will continue to happen because that's how the game goes around for years. Before our generation, there were so many great players but the game continues," said Tendulkar.

Dravid retired from all forms of the game in March, ending a glorious 16-year-old career. His decision followed the team's disastrous show in England and Australia where it lost eight Test matches in a row. Sachin was part of the two tours and he says it would be incorrect to blame India's domestic structure for the team's poor show.

"I don't think we can point our fingers at our structure because with that same structure we hit the number one spot. So if there was something wrong with the structure, we would have never reached that spot," said Tendulkar, according to a report in The Times Of India.

A Hindu report says that when asked if there was any problem with the system, Tendulkar responded in negative.

“I don’t think we can point our fingers at our structure because with that same structure we hit the number one spot. So if there was something wrong with the structure, we would have never reached that spot.

“I just feel, you know, that if you compare the Australian series and you felt they always managed to get one big partnership. We were able to pick up early wickets, then invariably there was one partnership, which tilted the game in their favour and there were not many big partnerships in our side.”

“There are two ways to look at it. The batsmen aren’t scoring enough runs and on the other side the bowlers are allowing that one big partnership because one side was getting that advantage of one big partnership, the other side was not,” Tendulkar said.

Meanwhile according to another report in The Hindu, Sachin Tendulkar reckons that players cannot be forced into liking the longer format. “To make someone like Test cricket, it has to come from within. There is no set formula that you have to do certain things and then you start liking Test cricket. I grew up dreaming about playing for India — that was the biggest thing I wanted to achieve: to play Test cricket for India and to do well,” Tendulkar said.

“Every practice session I went out, I was prepared to work as hard as any of my coaches wanted me to; the only thing I wanted was an India cap. Yes, maybe there are individuals around who feel, ‘If I don’t play Test cricket I don’t miss much.’ You need not force them into something they don’t want to be,” he told ESPN’s Sports Centre programme.

“If someone wants to be in Test cricket, then he will find his way, will be ready to push himself as hard as anyone to realise his dreams. I don’t like to push someone to like Test cricket and make him like Test cricket forcibly. I would just keep those two individuals separate,” Tendulkar said.