Lahore, April 21: Picked in Pakistan's World Cup squad, opener Abid Ali Sunday sought advice from Sachin Tendulkar ahead of the showpiece and said he wants to hug the Indian batting great. The 31-year old has been in prolific form in Pakistan's domestic cricket and broke into the national one-day squad for the World Cup after scoring a century on his debut against Australia in Dubai last month.

The immensely talented Abid bats in a manner similar to one of cricket's all-time greats. "It's my wish and hope that I meet Sachin Tendulkar. Definitely, I would like to hug him and I am sure that just like all great players meet youngsters I am sure that he will not turn me down. ICC World Cup 2019: All Teams Are Strong, No Team Is Favourite, Says Shoaib Malik.

"I am sure that if I want to get any information on cricket from Sachin, he will give a positive reply," Abid told a group of journalists. Abid said meeting his idol would be a memorable moment.

"It will be the best day in my life when I meet him (Tendulkar) because he was one of the best batsmen. "West Indian Viv Richards was also a great so I want to meet all the great players and learn from them," said Abid.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)