Mumbai: Former India captain Anil Kumble on Wednesday paid rich tribute to Sachin Tendulkar’s bowling skills, saying The Master had threatened his place in the side.

Kumble, delivering the second Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Memorial Lecture, heaped praise on his long-time teammate.

“I played 132 Tests alongside Sachin, I never threatened his place as a batsman, but he sometimes threatened mine as a bowler. He was a natural with leg spin,” said India’s highest wicket-taker — 619 Test wickets and 337 ODI scalps.

Kumble felt Sachin was retiring at the right time.

“When he turned 37, many said Sachin has overstayed. He answered with a double century in ODIs…

“In 1989, when I made my debut for Karnataka, another man, a 16-year old, was making his debut for India. Sachin has spanned three generations of cricketers starting from Kapil Dev to Shikhar Dhawan. Few players have done as much as Sachin to alter the perception of the game in our country,” Kumble told a packed gathering which included players from both India and the West Indies.

“Fans love the end-product, but there were hours of hard work behind Sachin’s straight drives. It was a privilege to play alongside him.”

Kumble kept the gathering enthralled and spoke about his career, his learning as a cricket administrator and the future of the game. Kumble currently chairs the technical committees of the BCCI and the ICC. He is also the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association though he has decided not to continue further.

In his opening lines, Kumble remembered how he was once written off as a spinner by Pataudi. “At best, he was a restrictive bowler,” Pataudi had said about Kumble. On Wednesday, Kumble said: “After 619 wickets later, it’s my misfortune that I cannot confront him. Had I done so, he would have had a great laugh,” Kumble said.

Pataudi, who passed away in September 2011 at 70, represented India in 46 Tests from 1961-62 till 1974-75, and scored 2,793 runs, inclusive of six centuries. Pataudi, or Tiger as he was fondly called, led India in 40 Tests.

The 43-year-old Kumble paid tribute to the late skipper saying: “He was an Englishman with an Indian heart. Pataudi was a management guru and has been a beacon for every Indian captain.”

Kumble said India has established itself as a power in world cricket and needed to make pragmatic moves to hold on to this position. Kumble said India needed to guard against making “historical mistakes.”

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but every stage of evolution needs an open mind and a fresh approach… Power can be handy but with power comes responsibility. An Indian became president of the ICC and showed how to earn money,” said Kumble.

He was of course referring to Jagmohan Dalmiya’s tenure as the ICC president.

Speaking on the controversial Decision Review System (DRS), Kumble said: “Personally, I’ve my reservations and it was highlighted during the Ashes series… We need to eliminate the drawbacks.”

He spoke on the need to educate cricketers and the challenges faced in the wake of the recent spot-fixing allegations in the IPL. “We must be proactive to deal with such challenges. We need to put a system in place to ensure there is no repetition. There should be criminal charges and jail sentences for errant players. I’ve also suggested that their records be erased.”

Talking about the challenges that International cricket faces in the modern times, Kumble suggested separate seasons for separate formats and said it will help allow cricketers to prepare for the physical and mental demands of each format.

“It may be practical to step away from the unimaginative approach of packing every single series with a couple of Test matches, a few ODIs, followed by a couple of Twenty over games… Instead, curve out separate calendars for each format.

Kumble said India should take the lead in this too as they have done in the Indian Permier League.

“Three different seasons to accommodate three different formats is easily conceivable and here too India can lead like they have done with the IPL,” he said.

“A good analogy could be the tennis season which moves from surface to surface, hard court, clay, grass and indoors. A staggered season will enable to spread cricket to new territories, allow better planning,” he added.

Saba Ali Khan, daughter of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, was present on the occasion. The first Pataudi Lecture was delivered by Sunil Gavaskar.