Former Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga says senior players the world over have been treated disrespectfully.

"All the senior cricketers were treated badly including Sri Lankans and Pakistanis. You take all the senior cricketers. They were treated badly. They should be given respect," he added.

Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly have been the pillars of Indian batting for the past decade but Ranatunga said the trio has not been respected enough for its contribution to cricket.

"I think they carried Indian batting for the last 10-15 years. And I think they should be respected more. They are brilliant cricketers. This is not the way to tell them to go," he said.

On being asked if long careers of senior cricketers were denying youngsters a chance to play, Ranatunga cited the example of Sri Lankan cricket and said, "Mahela Jayawardene was groomed, Russel Arnold was groomed. We were grooming players."

"There has to be a balance," he added.