Allan Lamb: Tendulkar 'Easily' Tops Kohli as Greatest Indian Batter; Claims He 'Made' Sachin's Career

Former England cricketer Allan Lamb has weighed in on the debate of the greatest Indian batter of all time, siding with Sachin Tendulkar.

Virat Kohli pays tribute to Sachin Tendulkar after surpassing his record for the most ODI centuries during the 2023 World Cup.

Lamb, a veteran of three World Cups and 79 Tests for England, stated definitively, "Sachin easily," when asked to choose between Tendulkar and other Indian batting legends.

The 71-year-old even jokingly claimed a role in Tendulkar's success. "I played against him when he was 18. I dropped him at slip and he went on to get 100 (in a Test match). So I always say to him, it was me that made your name."

Lamb further elaborated on his preference for Tendulkar, explaining why he ranked him above both Gavaskar and Kohli.

"Kohli is a brilliant player, he's got all the shots, he can score quickly. But if you want the best player I played against, that Indian player is Sachin, even ahead of Sunny. The only thing I would have liked was to see Sachin play against the West Indies, where Sunny scored runs against the West Indies. He was probably the only Indian to score runs against those quicks," he said.

Despite his admiration for Tendulkar, Lamb revealed that his favorite Indian cricketer of all time is Kapil Dev, his former teammate at Northamptonshire.

"I loved the way Kapil Dev played. We played together at Northampton," he recalled. "I remember him coming over and me saying, 'Kapi, I'm so pleased that you've come over. We need to strengthen our bowling.' He said, 'No, I haven’t come to strengthen my bowling. I've come to better my batting. I've come here as a batsman,' which I always enjoyed," he added.