`I think Sachin Tendulkar is a national hero. He has made us so proud always. My father (Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi) once said that he takes cricket to a metaphysical level.
When I asked him how, he said 'you know sometimes I kill the bowler before lunch and then maybe I get out because I've killed him.
Sachin says he'll kill him before lunch after lunch, he'll kill him after tea and then he'll kill him the next day and he'll kill him for four days if he can'.
He used to reiterate that Sachin just takes batting to another level. It's sad that he's retiring and everybody gets older... nothing lasts forever but I think we will always remember what a great great player he's been.
From his first match -- when Waqar Younis hit him in the face and he kept playing -- he's always been very brave. He's a true Bharat Ratna I think.`
