Date:04/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/04/stories/2009010456081400.htm

Sport - Cricket

Tendulkar’s presence extremely valuable: Amre

Chennai: Mumbai coach Praveen Amre reiterated the value of having Sachin Tendulkar in the team for the climactic stages of the Ranji Trophy.

He said here on Saturday, “It’s very essential for the young cricketers to interact with him. Tendulkar’s inputs will be extremely valuable for them to progress to the next level. They can learn so much from talking to him, observing him.”

Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer said young paceman Dhaval Kulkarni will benefit from the experience of playing alongside senior paceman Zaheer Khan. “He can learn a lot about the skills of pace bowling from Zaheer. He will become a better bowler.”

Amre said Saurashtra was a combative side that had played good cricket this season. He also spoke about prolific run-getter Cheteshwar Pujara. “He is hungry for runs and has this knack of getting big hundreds. Pujara has a very good temperament,” he said. Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah said his team was confident going into the semifinal. “We will not be overawed by reputations. Playing against Mumbai in a knock-out game is a big challenge.”— Special Correspondent