Don't treat Sachin with too much respect: Anderson

The Test series is still a few days away but England have started the mindgames with pacer James Anderson saying that his team needs to make sure that it does not treat senior Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar "with too much respect in the middle".

"There has been much talk that this may be Sachin Tendulkar's last Test series. I do enjoy bowling against him as testing yourself against the best is what playing at this level is all about," Anderson wrote in his column for 'The Daily Mail' ahead of the four-Test series starting November 15 in Ahmedabad.

"And there is no question in my mind that he has been one of the best batsmen — if not the best — for 20-odd years. But we have to make sure we do not treat him with too much respect in the middle," he said.

Anderson said admiring Tendulkar too much would take away the competitive edge.
"I do know that people have said they love watching him bat and maybe too much of that kind of admiration could dull your competitive edge.

"I've never been aware of succumbing to that myself but maybe subconsciously, because you respect him for what he has done in the game — 100 international centuries is some achievement — and the way he has conducted himself, you want to get him to respect you back," he said.

"The Sachin factor is quite something to experience. I've played in games here in which the Indian supporters seem more interested in his batting than how their team are doing, when Sachin getting out is the signal for a mass exodus."

Anderson said he wouldn't mind getting booed by the crowd if he manages to dismiss Tendulkar.

"I will be seeking to make myself pretty unpopular with the locals in the weeks ahead. The bottom line is that we treat everyone with the same respect, whether they've played one Test or 100 — and that goes for trying to earn their respect, too," he said.