Tendulkar would be in my side any day: Mohsin

Dhaka, May 11 (UNI) Dashing former Pakistani Test player Mohsin Khan today batted for Sachin Tendulkar's inclusion in the ODI squad and exuded confidence that the Master Blaster would soon silence critics with his bat.

Talking to UNI, Khan, a veteran of 48 tests for Pakistan, said, ''(Sachin) Tendulkar has at least two years of cricket left in him.

He is not a star. He is a superstar. And if I were the captain, he would have been in my side for sure.'' ''Players have bad and purple patches. He may be going through a lean phase and may have some fitness problems but with time he will bounce back,'' he said.

Asked about India and Pakistan's dismal performance in the World Cup, he said, ''The reason is we don't have a strong reserve bench.

Look at the Aussies they have such a strong bench strength.'' ''Even a decade back they were not like this. But now they have two players for each position. The players in Australia 'A' teams are good enough to wear the country caps any day. This takes away the luxury of being relaxed from the playing eleven. They know if we don't perform there is someone waiting to take my place. So they give hundred per cent,'' he said.

''Look at Shane Watson, Shaun Tait and Nathan Bracken. All were last moment inclusions and see how they are performing,'' he added.

But hopefully both the PCB and BCCI have understood that and they are talking the right steps. ''Only prayers are not enough for a team to win consistently. They need the right prescription which is in a strong reserve bench,'' the Pathan said.

UNI