"It was like, look if this guy can do it, we can also try to do it. The opportunity to try and share a dressing room with him, that was a huge motivation. For me to be on that England trip for the first time and share a dressing with him was a huge trip," Dravid added.
Tendulkar returned the compliments, by describing Dravid as the 'master technician'.
"Absolutely, he is a master technician. Any day in my team, he will be number three, because there were so many innings in which he batted brilliantly. When the rest of the guys found it difficult, he was comfortable. He loved challenges and I knew we could bank on Rahul at the times of difficulty."
The two cricket legends played together for the country for 16 years but rarely they have played against each other.
Asked about this, Dravid said, "I can't remember playing against Sachin in Ranji Trophy for Karnataka versus Mumbai. Only played against him in West Zone versus South Zone. All our contests have been in coloured clothing, surprisingly, in spite of the fact that we played for so many years together. So one final time it is always great to play against Sachin."
Tendulkar also said that he would cherish this moment.
"I remember Rahul being part of Wills Trophy team when I was his captain but we played in whites. That was the first time I saw Rahul. I think it was way back in 1993-94 and since then we have been in whites and colours but playing in same team," he said.
Dravid felt that IPL and CLT20 have helped India in doing better in the limited over formats.
"It (CLT20) is a great tournament. The crowd, the atmosphere. Some of the boys who are on our side, they never get to experience such things anywhere they go. And for them just to get the experience of playing against the likes of Tendulkar and others is great.
"And it's great for Indian cricket because a lot of these kids would go on to play for India and when they come in this sort of environment they are comfortable they know what to do. That is India has been doing exceptionally well in limited over cricket," Dravid said.
Tendulkar agreed and said the experience of playing with some of the best in the international circuit has helped Indian youngsters.
"It's a great tournament. You talk about players from West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England, all the players love this tournament and look forward to it, such is the importance of IPL and now CLT20. We have thoroughly enjoyed being in the dressing room where we have got to know so many players we thought were just okay as a person but once you got to know them you find this is different and perceptions change about the players.
"It's about sharing knowledge with the players. It's not about senior players giving lectures to juniors, it is also about absorbing things and that has happened in the last six years. The bottomline is what Rahul said that Indian cricket is benefiting. You see so young players sharing dressing room with players from across the world. It's about understanding the game and that is what has happened to the Indian cricket."
After taking over the mantle of captaincy from Shane Warne during the fifth season of the IPL last year, Dravid made for a perfect leader.
"It's been a huge roller coaster. We had some great momentum going towards the end of IPL. Then some unfortunate incidents happened that brought us down a little bit as a team. Just the way the boys have responded even towards the end of the IPL and the way they have got together in this tournament I couldn't have asked for anything more," he said.
"It's been a privilege to me to captain this side and work with the support staff. It's been a fabulous journey and great ride."
Source: NDTV
