CRICKET WORLD

Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi admits that Sachin Tendulkar's refusal to come out of international T20 retirement for India is a boost for everyone else at the World Twenty20.

Tendulkar only played one T20 international - against South Africa in 2006 - before calling it quits in the shortest form of the game ahead of the World Twenty20 in 2007.

Despite showing excellent form for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, scoring 303 runs in the first six matches this season, the 36-year-old has refused to reconsider his position.

"The way he has blossomed in the last few years, he is only getting better and better as a batsman," said Afridi, who will lead Pakistan in the Caribbean next month.

"If he is not playing for India in the Twenty20 World Cup, it is certainly a big advantage for other teams. If Tendulkar had played in this World Cup, I am sure he would made big impact for India."

Tendulkar has shown superb form in all three formats of the game in recent years, regularly recording Test centuries and registering the first double century in the history of one-day cricket.

Afridi pointed out that age does not seem to have blunted Tendulkar's game, but also that his technique has been easily transferred to the Twenty20 arena.

"With every match he seems to be growing as a batsman and getting better. He is playing like a teenager. There is no sign of age affecting his game at all," Afridi said.

"The biggest thing that he still enjoys playing the sport and he is hunger for runs has not died at all.

"I think even in Twenty20 cricket you need to bat properly and at times even playing out 20 overs is a big challenge for a team. You need to play orthodox cricket."