Levi itching to play alongside Tendulkar

Richard Levi just cannot wait to play alongside Sachin Tendulkar after being snapped up by the Mumbai Indians.

Johannesburg: South Africa`s newest cricket star Richard Levi just cannot wait to play alongside legendary Sachin Tendulkar after being snapped up by the Mumbai Indians.

"Sachin Tendulkar has been a childhood hero and it will be exciting to share the dressing room with him," Levi said after his agent Arthur Turner confirmed that Levi has signed a one-year deal to play for the Mumbai Indians in the 2012 edition of the Indian Premier League. "I have heard from friends that Mumbai Indians is like an extended family where the team shares a great bond and trusts youngsters," Levi said. Levi was overlooked at the recent IPL auction but teams frantically started trying to secure his services after his profile increased dramatically when he hit a world record 13 sixes and also made the fastest T20 International century of all time (51 balls) for the Proteas on their current tour of New Zealand. Levi has also shown outstanding form for the provincial side Cobras in both domestic T20 and 50 overs cricket during the past two seasons. Cricket South Africa confirmed that Levi would become available for the Mumbai franchise once he completes his commitments to the Cobras in the MiWay T20 Challenge. His next commitment for the Proteas is only likely to be in June when the national squad travels to Zimbabwe for a five-match series. PTI