Tendulkar would have been successful in any era: Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar today said Sachin Tendulkar would have been successful in any era because of his sound technique and temperament and cited Sir Don Bradman's words to support his claim.
"As Sir Don Bradman said a great in one era would have been a great in any era. If you look at the technique that he has got, if you look at the temperament that he has, I think he would have been successful in any era," Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar, however, refused to compare Bradman with Tendulkar.
"You cannot compare two players of different eras. At best you can compare players of the same team. I don't think it is correct to compare players of two eras. It's good for an after dinner debate."

Gavaskar said the trio of Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers and Tendulkar are to cricket what Michael Jordan is to basketball, Mohammad Ali to boxing and Pele to football.
"There were few men who have embellished sports and made that sport beyond the sport itself. And I think in that context you would relate football with Pele, basketball with Michael Jordan, boxing with Mohammad Ali and in cricket I would imagine there would be three. One would be Sir Don Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers and Sachin Tendulkar. They absolutely took the game to a different level," Gavaskar at India Today Group's 'Salaam Sachin' function at city hotel here.

Gavaskar said he realised Tendulkar's potential when he watched him bat during his maiden first-class game.

"First time I watched him in a match was his debut first-class game against Rest of India and the following Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai at the Wankhede stadium. He certainly showed the potential to go on and make life miserable for the bowlers of the world," he said.
Gavaskar feels Tendulkar's key to success was his balance, both on and off the field.
"Balance on the field is in terms of cricketing balance. And by balance off the field I mean his ability to maintain his level of concentration, his discipline off the field despite achieving so much, despite having so much pressure of expectations," he said.