For Warne, Tendulkar is best batsman of his era

Never short of praise for Sachin Tendulkar, legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne says the Indian maestro is the best batsman he has played against for the way he handles expectations of a billion people and bad umpiring decisions.

Warne, who had named Tendulkar as the numero uno batsman of his era in his book Shane Warne's Century, said it was hard to pick between the Mumbai maestro and West Indian Brian Lara, and it was the overall conduct of the Indian which was the deciding factor.

"Over the years there have been a lot of wonderful batsmen, so it is pretty hard to pick between Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar," Warne said.

"But I think given the way Sachin handles everything and the expectations that he carries every single time that he walks out to bat, and the way he handles bad decisions and the way he just carries himself.

"I would have to say Sachin Tendulkar was the best batsman that I have played with in my 20 years of playing international cricket," he said at a function.

Flanked by Graeme Smith and some other Rajasthan Royals players, Warne also spoke about his South African "bunny."

"My biggest bunny, I suppose, would have to be (South African) Darryl Cullinan. I was once asked who I would like to bowl to for a living. I said I would be a very rich man if I was to bowl to (Cullinan)."