Sachin Tendulkar may not have been a huge success as Indian cricket captain, but many a young career bloomed under his leadership, said former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.

“When I was trying to find my feet in international cricket, it was a huge learning experience to play under Tendulkar. He had given a lot of support as a player and as a captain and my career blossomed under him,” Ganguly said on the sidelines of a Tendulkar felicitation on Tuesday.

“It’s not only me, I am sure the likes of (Rahul) Dravid, (VVS) Laxman and (Anil) Kumble would be thinking the same about Tendulkar,” Ganguly said at the ceremony organised by the Aryan Club that celebrated its 125th anniversary.

Sachin turned out for the Aryans in the early 90s in the P Sen Trophy.

Recalling his association with Tendulkar, Ganguly said, “I know him since my under-13 days when we met at a national camp. It has been a long journey together. We had a very good time together at the top, opening the batting in ODIs.

“He has charmed the crowd not only with his bat but with his amazing behaviour. It’s very difficult to emulate him what Sachin has achieved as a cricketer and the talent he possesses. But it will be really nice if we could emulate him the way he carries himself,” Ganguly said.

Ganguly wished Tendulkar remained fit to achieve 100 international centuries and do well in the 2011 World Cup.

“World Cup is coming and he is also close to 100 centuries. I wish he remains fit and bats the way he is doing. It’s an example for the youngsters to follow,” Ganguly said.

He also congratulated Sachin for his bit to make India the number one Test side.

“I remember when we used to tour overseas, were being leveled as very soft, not because of his batting but soft for our team’s performance. I congratulate him on achieving the No 1 status and he is the biggest contributor to that,” Ganguly said.