Cricket: Indians eager to see legend

News Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar (above) will be playing in Whangarei next February has the region's Indian community in a spin. Photo / File

Northland's Indian community is in a spin over news one of the world's greatest cricketers, Sachin Tendulkar - the man dubbed the "Master Blaster" and a legend in his home country - is set to play a two-day game in Whangarei next year.

Northlanders will have the opportunity to watch Tendulkar when the Indian cricketers play a two-day match at the Cobham Oval in February, in the only warm-up game ahead of the first test at Eden Park.

The Indian team is expected to be a virtual test line-up and will face off against a NZ XI on February 2-3, something that has excited the region's Indian community, Northland Indian Association chairman Sandeep Diwan said.

Tendulkar's appearance in Whangarei will be welcomed by all cricket fans, but for those of Indian descent it's close to a dream.

"All the Indian community of Northland is very excited to see the Indian team playing in Whangarei and wishes them good luck in advance. We are expecting large numbers of people from Indian origin from all over Northland and even from Auckland to watch them play in Whangarei and cheer for them," Mr Diwan said.

"We all are dying to see Sachin Tendulkar, the legend, here in Whangarei.

"Maybe this will be the last time we see Sachin Tendulkar playing in New Zealand. He is the soul of Indian cricket. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsman in cricket. He is also known as Master Blaster."

He said the community also had high hopes of seeing Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the current captain of the team, play here.

"MS Dhoni is proved as the most successful Indian captain in all forms of the game. He is rated as one of the best cricketers in the world along with Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag. We wish the Indian cricket team all the very best during their stay in New Zealand," Mr Diwan said.

Tendulkar, 40, is the most successful batsman of all time since making his debut against Pakistan at Karachi in 1989, holding the record for most runs scored in tests (15,837) and one-day internationals (18,426). He has also scored more centuries than anybody else - 51 in tests and 49 in ODIs.