Tendulkar is clever but under-rated bowler: Laxman

Sachin Tendulkar's greatness lies in his batting but former India teammate, V V S Laxman, also considers the retiring legend as an under-rated and a clever bowler who has played his part in a couple of famous Test and ODI wins.
Playing in his penultimate Test, Tendulkar caused the Eden Gardens to erupt after having West Indies' Shane Shillingford trapped in front of the wicket for his 46th Test wicket in Kolkata today.
"Sachin is an under-rated bowler. I called him a man with a golden arm. He is a wicket-taking bowler, when he bowls you can expect something to happen," Laxman said of Tendulkar.

"He has lots of variation. He can bowl medium pace, googly and leg-spin. He can turn the ball in a big way. His most potent delivery is leg-spin and if the length is right he can extract bounce from the pitch and that is very dangerous for any batsman," he said.
"Everybody knows what happened during the Hero Cup semifinal against South Africa at the Eden (in 1993). He told then captain Mohd. Azharuddin to give the ball to him. So today, it was a masterstroke from Dhoni to give the ball to Tendulkar who did not disappoint his captain," Laxman said of Tendulkar who is playing his penultimate Test.

Laxman cited two Tests against Australia -- India's famous win after following on at Eden in 2001 (remembered for the Hyderabadi's epic 281) and another equally famous win in Adelaide in 2003 when Rahul Dravid made a match-winning 233 -- in which Tendulkar played a part as a bowler.

"In 2001 at Eden, time was running out and he took three crucial wickets (including those of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist) and along with Harbhajan bowled out Australia in second innings. Then in Adelaide, he took two crucial wickets (of Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh) to hasten Australia's fall in second innings. So, he contributes for the team both with the bat and the ball," Laxman told 'NDTV'.

Laxman, however, did not feel Tendulkar has been under-used by his captains.
"Tendulkar is primarily a batsman though he can be a very dangerous bowler. Considering his batting workload, I think his captains have used him judiciously as a bowler.