My favourite fight is against Sachin

DUBAI: As Sachin Tendulkar reinvents himself to reap a new harvest of runs, records and renewed respect of fans and peers, one of his hero-worshippers and a hero himself, will be quietly raising a toast to the Little Master in faraway Dubai.

Andrew Flintoff, now the sports ambassador to that rapidly-evolving city in the Gulf, is an avowed fan of the Mumbai Indians skipper, who produced yet another match-winning knock, this time against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday.

"I love a fight against the best players in the world, and my favourite fight is against Sachin," said Flintoff during a one-on-one with TOI, when asked what egged him on more - rivalries like the Ashes or quality opposition. "I remember watching him while growing up, though he is not much older than me. Now that I've got the chance to play against him, I want to not just get him out but impress him as well," he added, sounding more like someone from Tendulkar's legion of adoring fans than the star all-rounder that he is.

Impress? "Yes, I want him to walk off thinking... Oh! Freddie can bowl, can't he? Or, if I got some runs, for him to think... Well, he can bat a bit," smiled the former England skipper who has now made Dubai his home.

"Obviously, that's because of the respect I have for him. I enjoy playing against the likes of Sachin, Dravid... It's a great test."

Having retired from Test cricket last year, Flintoff has moved with his family here to be nicely poised for the next phase of his career. "It's been a good move as a family and were spending a lot of quality time together," he said.

"It's been great professionally as well, with all the facilities and the (warm) weather just right for my knee rehab. India is only three hours away and it will allow me to come back between some of the IPL games. I want to play in different parts of the world - in South Africa, in Australia eventually. Where Dubai is on the map, it's perfectly placed," he added.

At 33 and recuperating from another surgery on his right knee, it would have been easy for Flintoff to blame it on "too much cricket" but he prefers to put things in perspective. "Pace bowling involves such an unnatural action - you're running in as hard as you can, you twist and turn, you slam your feet as hard as you can... Careers are going to become shorter, especially for the fast bowlers, but by then they’ll have earned many times more money than their predecessors. Imagine what Garfield Sobers would be worth in the IPL!"