Mumbai, Nov 4 (IANS): Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar Saturday praised Sachin Tendulkar for his century in a Ranji Trophy match and said that the innings would stand him in good stead for the forthcoming Test series against England.

Tendulkar smashed a quick-fire 137 off 136 balls against Railways as Mumbai amassed a mammoth 570 all out in their first innings.

"He is one the most hardworking guys you come across. I think Sachin would have got enough time to think about how he got out. If he has got the runs now, obviously he has worked hard for it.

"The evidence will be seen in the Test matches. The fact that he has got runs is a good sign," Gavaskar told reporters.

There has been a raging debate on whether it's time for Tendulkar to call it a day considering his poor run of form and the manner in which he had been getting clean bowled playing the wrong line.

Talking about those dismissals Gavaskar said: "That was the early part of the season. Some people can be a little bit rusty. India had a rare two months off from international cricket. May be it was a case of rustiness. But he is somebody who would have noticed it himself and studied the videos. So I don't see too much of an issue."