"Watching Tendulkar bat throughout this series has been a curious business; his decline at once obvious and yet, since that decline has been accompanied by two telling innings, there comes with it a greater admiration," Atherton wrote in a British newspaper 'Daily Telegraph'.

"'Decline' is a relative term, of course. It is simply that Tendulkar is now a very fine player rather than a very great one," he said after the Indian scored 217 runs and also picked some crucial wickets in the three-match series.

Atherton had joined the intense debate started by former Australian captain Ian Chappell on whether Tendulkar should call it a day in the aftermath of his poor showing in the World Cup by writing a column in the paper under the headline "Sachin Tendulkar, now just a comic hero".

Atherton had also doubted that if sponsorship deals were among the reasons that was keeping Tendulkar going in cricket.

"The truth is that Tendulkar has been marketed as a brand for some time. There are many interested parties who are keen to see Tendulkar wearing India's colours for a while yet...

"There are only two reasons for carry on playing: if you are good enough, and if you still love the game. Only Tendulkar knows whether that love is alive. Everyone else is painfully aware that, despite his new super-hero status, his powers are very much on the wane," Atherton had said.