I am not a very keen watcher of the game, especially on television. But I love watching Sachin Tendulkar bat.
MS DhoniI am not a very keen watcher of the game, especially on television. But I love watching Sachin Tendulkar bat. During the 2003 World Cup final, I actually got up and switched off my television as soon as Sachin got out. He was always the idol, the big player I looked up to when I began my career.
I tried to copy his style on practice wickets. It was easy on concrete wickets, because the ball doesn't do too much. But eventually, when I first saw the video of my batting, it was nothing close to what Tendulkar used to do.
The pull shot that he plays, to the ball back of a length, where he rocks back and hits over mid-wicket, is truly classy. Another shot that I really liked, and somehow managed to pick up, was the paddle sweep that he played against Shane Warne. That was when the rivalry between Tendulkar and Warne was really building up and I was really young when I watched that. The first time I interacted with him was during a Duleep Trophy game in Pune. I got to see him make 199 runs.
While batting with him, Sachin relaxes you down. He helps you develop the right strategy. He uses all his experience and comes up with a gameplan for a particular situation.
If you compare what Sachin thinks about the game in a particular situation with where your own game is, it really helps to know where you stand. Watching him bat from the non-striker's end is good fun, especially when he is going after the bowlers.
The challenges Sachin has faced over the past 19 years have been huge. It is not only about on-field performance, but also about being able to compete with the fittest individuals in the team. I think to be consistent throughout is phenomenal. He is a very special guy who has been made by God to play cricket at its best.
When I was growing up, Tendulkar was my role model. As a wicket-keeper batsman the person I was trying to follow was Adam Gilchrist. I never knew Gilchrist while I got to know Sachin over the years. One thing we have in common is our love for speed.
He tells me which car is better, which car is faster. He is into cars and I am into bikes but our common passion is speed. I would love to race against him. Sachin in his car and me on my bike. Of course, I would be designing the track.
As told to Nihal Koshie
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