"Sachin is an amazing cricketer, if not the best to have played the game. What he has done over the last 24 years is testimony to the person. We are happy to be here, but we are here to play Test cricket and we have our own goals," said the West Indies skipper.
"There's bound to be a lot of excitement and celebration, but at the end of the day it's the competition (that we are looking at). If Sachin gets out to the first ball, it's good for us. We're not here to give freebies."
Is he a trifle apprehensive that Sachin will be coming into the Test series, which begins at the Eden Gardens on November 6, riding form from Mumbai's Ranji Trophy win over Haryana in Lahli on Wednesday? "Not really. To win a Test we need 20 wickets, Sachin's just one of them. Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli are all good batsmen," he reminded.
Sammy recalled his first meeting with Sachin in 2005. "I was at the MCC versus Rest of the World tsunami match at Lord's. To come close to him is a massive honour," he said. "He has carried the weight for India for over two decades and yet has remained so humble. We as a team have a lot of respect for him. He has been a great ambassador for the game."
Mohammad Kaif, member of the Uttar Pradesh team that takes on the Caribbeans in the warm-up tie from Thursday, said: "Sachin has always been an inspiration for me. We shared a number of good partnerships and he always helped me get into my innings. He takes pressure off his partner and it's great to have him at the other end," said the former India batsman.
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