England spinner Ashley Giles on Friday stressed that even though Sachin Tendulkar's batting prowess has faded a bit in the last few years, he still has a lot to offer to Indian cricket.
"Sachin might never play as well as he has done in the past but that certainly doesn't make him a bad player. He still has a lot to give to Indian cricket," Giles told rediff.com in Nottingham on Friday.
Giles is widely remembered for his tactics of bowling outside the leg stump to Tendulkar, which the master batsman found it hard to counter.
Tendulkar had a good run during India's tour of England in 2002, having scored 401 runs in 4 matches.
Giles says it would be lethal to write off the veteran batsman, even though he is not at his best, as he is still capable of producing match-winning knocks.
"It's difficult for me to say because I have just seen him bat twice at Lord's. I think it is easy to make swift judgments on one game. But he could easily get some big runs here and take India towards winning the Test match," added Giles, a key member of England's Ashes winning squad two years back.
Giles, who is recuperating from a hip discomfort, also believes that the experienced Indian middle order cannot be taken lightly even though they are struggling at the moment. Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman failed to deliver in the first Test at Lord's as India managed to escape with a draw.
"I think it's always easy to underestimate the quality of the players that Indians have in their middle order," the left-arm spinner said.
The 34-year-old is impressed with the way the young England attack countered the experienced Indian batting line-up.
"Their seam bowlers bowled very well (at Lord's) led by James Anderson. It is good to see young guys putting their hands up and coming to the party if you like," he said.
Giles has no regrets losing his place in the team to Monty Panesar, who has become a huge rage in England since making his international debut last year.
"Monty has done very well all year. The way the wicket looks at the moment he might not have a big part in this Test match. But you can never write him off because he has taken wickets in all conditions," Giles said.
