Calcutta Tigers’ Deep Dasgupta with South African coach Daryll Cullinan at the CC&FC on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Former South African batsman Daryll Cullinan is impressed by Sachin Tendulkar’s accomplishments to such an extent that he feels the maestro should go on “forever”.

“Tendulkar has managed his career in a fantastic manner…It’s a pleasure to watch him bat,” Cullinan, who is here to coach Calcutta Tigers in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), said on Friday.

“To put it in one word, he is a perfect batsman and the way he has been playing over 18 years is amazing,” the South African maintained.

Asked if Sachin has a shelf life, Cullinan said: “He should play as long as he wants… I even wish he goes on (playing) forever.”

Cullinan was also against the idea of axing seniors without setting up a proper bench. “You cannot judge someone by age… As long as the seniors are performing they should be persisted with and age shouldn’t come in their way. Besides, you have to see whether you have enough resources to fill in those slots,” he said.

Taking a dig at the BCCI for blacklisting the ICL, the Calcutta Tigers coach said: “I don’t understand what is this politics all about. Players who want to play should play and it shouldn’t be a concern for others.”

Reverting to the topic on South African cricket, the former Proteas batting mainstay admitted the game had changed a lot and Graeme Smith’s boys were better than the ones of his time. “The current bunch looks fitter too,” he said.

Cullinan will be joined by his one-time teammate Lance Kluesener in Calcutta Tigers as a player.

Klusener didn’t attend the first day’s practice at the CC&FC, but he was present at the news conference alongside Cullinan and Sri Lankan allrounder Upul Chandana.

Klusener is hopeful about the future of Twenty20. “I’m not sure if it will be the future of cricket, but it represents great fun and ambience during the three-and-a-half hours of duration,” Klusener said.

Klusener also rated Cullinan as one of the best coaches, saying “the team will be benefited by Daryll’s experience,” he said.

New Zealand’s Craig McMillan is expected to arrive here on Saturday morning.

CALCUTTA TIGERS SQUAD

Craig McMillan, Darren Maddy, Boyd Rankin, Lance Klusener, Upul Chandana, Rohan Gavaskar, Deep Dasgupta, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Subhamoy Das, Rajiv Kumar, Mihir Diwakar, Abu Nachim Ahmed, Parvez Aziz, Pritam Das, Shiv Sagar Singh, Anshu Jain, Sujay Tarafdar, Ali H. Zaidi, Syed Eklakh Ahmed.