Sachin not settled in his mind, says Viv Richards

St. John's (Antigua), May 14: The West Indies batting great Sir Vivian Richards says Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar, currently going through a lean patch, is tentative in his approach.

"At the moment, he doesn't quite look settled in his mind. If you are not going to be settled in your mind, the bat is not going to be settled in your hand," said Richards.

The Antiguan also feels that approaching milestones might be affecting Tendulkar's form. "He would have started realising by now he is closing in on Sunny Gavaskar and sometimes a lot of things start playing on your mind," said Richards.

But Richards was not ready to read too much into Tendulkar's poor form saying that magnificent players do go through lean times. "This is all part of life. He is such a magnificent player and magnificent players do go through lean times.

"At times you do not quite enjoy the game towards the later stages… when you are younger you are much more vibrant," he said.

Though Richards dominated the greatest fast bowlers of his time, he also faced quite a few world class spinners in his career, beginning with the famous Indian spin quartet in his debut series. "They were the greatest spinners -- Bishan (Singh Bedi), (E A S) Prasanna, Venkat (S Venkatraghavan) and Chandra (B S Chandrasekhar).

"These people very really special. One spinner I felt should have achieved much more was Maninder Singh. I thought he had something very special. But the left arm spinner never fulfilled his promise," said Richards.

Richards also greatly admires Shane Warne but feels the great Australian leg-spinner is currently on the wane.

"Shane Warne has been very special. But nowadays, the batsmen have become quite familiar with what Shane does," he said. 

Richards recalled his meeting with Sir Donald Bradman and said, "I remember one time in Adelaide he came to our dressing room. He came in at the time when I was 60 not out at the end of day's play. He came and just picked my jumbo (bat). He thought it was a little bit too heavy. He had never picked up such a bat in his life which weighed 2 pounds and 10 ounces," Richards said. "He was really intrigued about a bat which was so heavy."

Richards, whose own career has inspired many - including Tendulkar - because of his aggressive and inimitable style, said his aggression was to make the spectators happy.

"I batted aggressively because I thought you owed it to the people who come to the stands, you owe to them to make them as happy as possible. And that's why I like the Aussies," said Richards.

"A lot of people were scared of fast bowling and they looked at it as an intimidating stuff. I never looked at it that way. I always felt that I had a bat and there was no fast bowler who could intimidate me," he said.

"I could get hurt at any particular time, but when I was playing and representing my country, I never felt intimidated," Richards said.

Richards' smashing batting style was not only an assertion of his class but was also an extension of the people he represented. Against England in 1976, he was stung by the 'we will make them grovel' remark by England captain Tony Greig and went on to smash 829 runs in the series with two double centuries.

"I firmly believed we were a better team than what Tony had expected. The comment, derogatory or not, was an incentive for you to come and may be hit a few home runs, you know," Richards said with a twinkle in his eyes.

He was also proud of the people he represented and once refused to sign on a reported blank cheque which Dr Ali Bacher presented to him to lure him into the rebel series during the apartheid era of the 80s.

Richards, who never wore a helmet in his career, said he didn't feel a need for it even in the later part of his career. "I wanted to be comfortable at the crease and putting on a helmet didn't give you that added comfort. My dentist gave me a mouthpiece to use, but I abandoned those mouthpieces as well so that I could chew my gum in little more comfort. I loved chewing gum. It was part of Viv Richards' ritual."