Sachin lauds small towns' big presence in Indian cricket

"I think the players from the smaller towns sacrifice a bit more for developing their cricketing skills. They are a bit more motivated to make it big," Tendulkar said.

"In places like Ranchi, Mahi (M S Dhoni) told me that cricket facilities are bare minimum. Look at Dhoni or Munaf (Patel), they have their own style of playing cricket. Dhoni played football with heart and that made him run faster and made him stronger," he told 'Outlook' magazine.

Tendulkar said the epicentre of Indian cricket has shifted from big cities such as Mumbai and Bangalore to small towns.

"Players are coming from smaller towns. Our captain is from Ranchi. Players like Munaf Patel, S Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla belong to smaller towns and skill-wise they are as good as everyone," he said.

The 37-year-old champion batsman, who became a part of a World Cup winning team for the first time in his six appearances in the just-concluded edition, once again dedicated the trophy to the fans, especially to the armed forces.

"Our success on the field means so much for 120 crore Indians and even those Indians living abroad, which is why the team dedicated the Cup to the 120 crore Indians," he said.

"We are so proud of our armed forces. Because of them we feel secure. We can experience freedom because they are sacrificing their lives for us. I am too small a person to comment on them but I would like to salute them on this occasion," he added.