The 20-year-old was asked the question by an Indian journalist, at a very lively and interesting press conference, who enquired about his exchange with master batter Sachin Tendulkar as he was seen staring at him.

"I always love to stare at the batsman no matter whether it is Sachin or any other batsman in the world. It's not only at Sachin. I also stared at Australia captain Ricky Ponting in the last Test series at home," said Shahadat, who surprised the vaunted Indian batting line-up with his aggressive bowling.

But his main success on the day was with the bat as his valuable 31-run knock, highest in any level, helped Bangladesh to avoid the follow-on.

"My main intention was to play straight and gave support as much as possible to Mashrafe. I proved that I can also bat," said the 20-year old Shahadat, who is popular with his teammates for his squeaky clean image.

"I told my partner not to think about me. I assured him that I would try my best to stay at the crease as long as possible. I enjoyed the batting today. I think the absence of Kumble also helped us to avoid the follow-on," he said.

Everybody laughed at him when he declared that Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is the best batsman in the squad. "I think Mashrafe is best batsman in the team. I was not surprised that the way Mashrafe batted today because he can do anything. He is great," was the compliments of Shahadat for his new ball partner.

But he said that the pitch was fantastic for batting. "The pitch was fantastic for batting. It's tough to take a wicket if a batsman makes no mistake," he said.