When Sachin Tendulkar was asked as to pick the favourites to win the 50-over World Cup last year, the master blaster, being a brand ambassador of the event, had to be “discreet” with his response and said: “I will only say that the defending champions are ready to defend.”

On Wednesday, Sachin wasn’t diplomatic when he faced a similar question.

“I was the brand ambassador for the 50-over World Cup and it’s not the same this time. So, I can say India go all the way.”

With India hosting the T20 extravaganza for the first time, Sachin said the cricket-crazy nation had always appreciated all the formats of the game. “Having the T20 Cup here is going to be big. Everyone is waiting for this opportunity to go out and support India,” he added.

The 42-year-old felt the T20 format has the “right dosage” of cricket to engage spectators who aren’t familiar with the game.

“The shortest version has changed the dynamics of cricket. Few years ago nobody thought a batsman could reverse sweep a pacer over third-man for a six. The intensity of T20 cricket makes it more engaging for the spectators. You don’t see such high intense action for three hours at a stretch in any other format.”