‘Follow your heart’: Sachin Tendulkar who turns 50 on 24 April

The legendary cricketer began his training under another legendary cricket coach Ramakant Achrekar when he was just 11-years-old. Sachin attained the first fame after his record partnership with Vinod Kambli in school cricket in the Harris Shield in 1988.

Career’s beginning:

Recalling the days, Sachin — as quoted by Hindustan Times — said, “First of all, we didn’t know it was a record. We just played, and after a few days my classmate Ricky Couto’s brother Marcus (both would later go on to be umpires) told us, ‘I think it is a world record!'”

Following this match too, Sachin’s team played a a game against Anjuman-i-Islam in the Giles Shield, where he scored 178 not out, and went on to win the match.

Answering a question if he felt the struggle of stepping up from junior to senior cricket, Sachin said, “It didn’t happen to me.”

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According to him, every era has its challenges, so one should not get too drawn into comparisons.

India’s performances in the 90’s:

On being asked about India’s performances in the 90’s, the master blaster replied, “In the ’90s, it was almost as if we were being asked to box with one hand tied behind our backs. We were just defending more than attacking. We felt like that as a team. There were some decent names earlier also, but the consistency as a team was missing, is what I felt.” However, he added the post-2000 was a new chapter, with new faces in the team, new vision, new energy.

Sachin while emphasizing on his training method said that for him it was very important to not be bulky. “Fitness is all about what you are able to do once you have crossed the rope, and if I could better myself there, I was doing the right things.”

On Injuries:

With every player goes through injury multiple injuries in his career, Sachin remembered his finger injury in 2002, tennis elbow and injuries to a shoulder, bicep and wrist in 2009; again a tennis elbow in the other arm, and golfer’s elbow in 2009. He said, ” When certain parts of your body are not functioning at optimal levels, the brain adapts. For certain shots, I couldn’t grip the bat the way I used to.”

On retirement:

On being asked how difficult was it to say goodbye to the sport, Sachin said it wasn’t. “I was very clear that when I retired, I would play my last game only for India. I was always going to do that,” remembered Sachin on playing his last match.

On turning 50:

When asked what would be his advice to his 16-year-old self, the legend said, “I would say, if you’re going be there for that long (24 years), there are going to be highs and lows… it is a package deal and I wouldn’t settle for anything else.”