Kolkata, Nov 30: Superlatives may be a passe for him, but little master Sachin Tendulkar now gets the 'greatest' tag among the contemporaries from none other than skipper Sourav Ganguly, who describes him as 'any captain's dream' and 'a source of inspiration' for Indian cricket. "I have often been asked who is the best batsman in contemporary international cricket? Some people are of the opinion that it's Brian Lara, while others mention Steve Waugh in the same breath as Sachin Tendulkar. However, in my opinion, Sachin is the greatest," Ganguly says in the forward of a newly released book on Sachin, here.

Drawing comparisons with West Indian batting marvel Lara, Ganguly says, "I like the way Brian bats. His silken touch mesmerised me.”

"But, unlike Sachin, Brian does not have to carry the burden of one billion people every time he goes to bat," says the skipper, who considered it an 'honour' to write about his most celebrated team-mate.

Pointing out the 'ups and downs' in Lara's career-graph, Ganguly says, "Sachin, despite being always under a microscope, is one of the most consistent performers in the game.”

And the records say it all. "Look at his awesome record - 66 hundreds in international cricket, 55-plus test average, success against each and every team and under all conditions. What else do you need to be the best," Ganguly argues.

The 'insatiable hunger for success' of the Little Master, in fact, acted as a constant source of inspiration for the side and made task simpler for the captain, Ganguly says in the foreword of 'Ekso Kotir Bharsa' (turst of a hundred crore) penned by eminent cricket-writer Debashis Dutta. Bureau Report