5 indian players Sachin Tendulkar had a hunch would make it big ft. Rishabh Pant

It's hard to think of a player who had a career as decorated and celebrated as Sachin Tendulkar. The Master Blaster achieved it all over a glorious 24-year span and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever to have graced the game.

His ability to read game situations while batting kept him in a class above the rest. There were little cues that he could pick up that would aid his cause in staying a couple of steps ahead of the bowler.

That's not all, though, as the diminutive batter also had a knack for noticing a spark within a player.

Here, we look at five cricketers on whom Tendulkar's instinctive statements have paid off over time.

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#1 Virat Kohli

For many years, Virat Kohli was touted as the perfect successor to Tendulkar in Indian cricket. In many ways, the former Indian skipper has lived up to that billing as well, carrying the bulk of the burden of India's batting throughout his career.

During a felicitation program commemorating Tendulkar's feat of 100 international tons, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan asked the legendary batter as to who could break his record. He pointed towards Kohli being one of those who could potentially do it.

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#2 Rohit Sharma

In the aforementioned felicitation program, Tendulkar also pointed out Rohit Sharma as one of those batters who could break his record. He said:

"I think there are a couple of youngsters seated in this very room... I can see a couple of youngsters who can definitely do it. Virat and Rohit are the ones. As long as an Indian breaks it I don't mind."

Both Kohli and Rohit have gone on to achieve great success over the years. In fact, Kohli, with 70 international centuries, is still on track to match Tendulkar.

Rohit, on the other hand, boasts three double-hundreds in ODIs, with the Master Blaster being the first to cross the 200-run mark in men's one-day internationals.

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#3 MS Dhoni

It is well-documented that Tendulkar played a big role in MS Dhoni's appointment as captain of India. When Rahul Dravid stepped down from the ODI and Test captaincy in 2007, Dhoni led the Men in Blue at the inaugural ICC World T20 (as it was called back then) in South Africa.

The right-handed batter, who had two separate stints as Indian captain, was once again considered for the role. However, he suggested that Dhoni's sharp brains from behind the stumps would make him the ideal choice for the role.

The rest, as they say, is history. Captain Cool went on to lift all three senior ICC trophies, including the ODI World Cup in 2011 that fulfilled Tendulkar's lifelong dream.

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#4 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant has gone on to make a name for himself as a superstar in the making, courtesy of his breathtaking approach with the bat. That he's done it in his own, bold manner is testament to the prodigy that the Delhi lad has always been touted to be.

In a conversation with India Today after the Men in Blue went down against England in a 2019 ODI World Cup clash, Tendulkar heaped praise on Pant's 29-ball 32. He felt that the wicketkeeper-batter made a statement with his aggressive approach and even termed him a "dynamite".

True to Tendulkar's words, Pant has proved himself to be quite dynamic, with his counter-attacking approach seeing him script multiple iconic innings in Test cricket already. Sky is the limit for the Delhi cricketer, who looks set to make a statement in the coming years.

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#5 Ajinkya Rahane

When India toured Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21, Ajinkya Rahane was appointed captain in Kohli's absence with effect from the second Test. With Kohli set to return home on paternity leave, it was a huge blow to the team's chances in the absence of their skipper and star batter.

In a conversation with the Times of India, Tendulkar stated that Rahane had a good cricketing brain and was extremely sincere and hard-working. He also stated that the most important aspect for Rahane would be to remain himself.

As it turned out, Rahane led the team brilliantly in his own unassuming manner as the visitors went on to script a historic turnaround to win the series by a 2-1 margin. This was yet another case of the legenday batter calling it right.

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