Tendulkar excited about Champions League challenge

The Mumbai Indians were the first team to arrive in South Africa for the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20), which gets under way on Friday, when the Indians take on the Bizhub Highveld Lions at the Wanderers.

There is an aura around the Mumbai Indians, largely because they are captained by Sachin Tendulkar, who is arguably the most exciting and successful player of the modern era. There is a buzz of excitement wherever the Little Master goes, and South Africans are lucky to have seen him on numerous occasions.

Although he has retired from international Twenty20 (T20) cricket, Tendulkar - who owns just about every batting record going - was an integral part of the Mumbai Indians success in the IPL earlier this year, where they were runners-up to the Chennai Super Kings. He made 618 runs for his team, which earned him the record for the most runs scored in any edition of the IPL.

He said he was very excited about playing in the Champions League.

"Having played cricket for more than 20 years, this is the first time I am doing something like this. You have champion sides from most of the cricket playing nations - it's as tough as it can get. It will be competitive and exciting - you have some world-class players participating in this tournament and I think the crowds will thoroughly enjoy it.

"Twenty20 has always been an exciting format - this takes it to a new level altogether."

He said the team had had no problem settling down as a unit again.

"We had a superb third IPL season and the players understand each other very well, so there is no question of trying to understand each other again. We already know what the thinking is."

Tendulkar said he did not think the Australian and South African teams would have any particular advantage as a result of the conditions in South Africa.

"It all depends on how you perform on any given day," he said. "Many of the players taking part in the tournament have been travelling around the world, and have grown accustomed to different conditions."

He said that playing unknown teams posed a new challenge as well.

"All the teams have some world-class players, so it's always a challenge to play against them. But for me, it's all about playing to the best of my potential. It doesn't matter who the opposition is. That is the way I have always approached the game, and I continue to do that now."