Australian spin legend Shane Warne said Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman he has ever bowled to but he is not scared of him.

Warne clarified that his statement that he had nightmares about Tendulkar after the Sharjah One-day series was a joke and it wasn't meant to be taken so seriously.

"I want to clarify that this nightmare thing was a joke.

"Sachin is the best batsman of my time and I always enjoy the challenge of bowling to him but I am not scared of him or anybody for that matter," said Warne on the sidelines of an event.

"If I would have been scared I wouldn't have taken so many wickets in my career. I had quite a hair-raising experiences when he smashed me all over the park but I also got him out many times," added Warne, who took 708 wickets in Tests and 293 in ODIs.

Warne, also said that IPL was more than just money. "If you see the current bunch of Indian players, we have Suresh Raina working with Darren Lehman in the Chennai team, also there is Rohit Sharma. These players are evolving into match-winners after IPL stints.

"Even someone like Ravinder Jadeja bats at number 9 for India in Tests and also played in number four when the situation demanded in the ICC T20 World Cup. So it is not true that IPL is only about money," he said.

"IPL has a responsibility towards world cricket and I think they should work with the ICC to create a window so that it becomes mandatory for all the international players to tour India during the IPL.

"It will give the Indian players opportunities to rub shoulders with all the great stars and learn. But for that the IPL needs to be short," he said.
 
On his availability for next year's edition, Warne said, "I may play next year. I did enjoy last three years. I liked the challenge of nurturing the local talent in India. If I am bowling well, I will come up for 2011. Of course, if Jaipur wants me to stay," he said.

"I don't know the procedure of the IPL. May be I will have to go for the auction and if some franchise pays me 3-4 times more money, I may go but ideally I would like to be loyal to Jaipur," he added.

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