Sachin : Hope an Indian breaks my 100 tons record

[iS THAT ME]

I hope an Indian breaks my 100 tons record: Sachin Tendulkar​

MUMBAI: The helmet came off first. Then, he had a long look at his willow; it seemed as if time had stood still. Next came the customary glance heavenwards, followed by a wave of his bat towards the dressing room.

This was Sachin Tendulkar's muted response after he glanced Shakib Al Hasan towards deep square-leg to reach his 100th international hundred, at the Asia Cup in Mirpur last week. A year and four days was what it took him to progress from 99 to 100, and the relief was palpable.

"Sometimes, things happen in your life which you can't explain. You look at solutions and put question marks and ask why is this happening, but you just don't find answers. Eventually, you look at the scenarios when you haven't batted well and still ended up scoring big runs. What could be the reason? Luck," explained Tendulkar, in a 55-minute meeting with select media personnel convened by his managers, the World Sports Group, at a suburban hotel in Mumbai on a balmy Sunday afternoon.

A God-fearing man, Tendulkar also paid obeisance to the Elephant God in a thanks-giving gesture at Siddhivinayak, a day after he returned to India from Dhaka. Was it thanks-giving or whether it was to say sorry? After all, he claims he had questioned the Almighty on the reasons for his struggle.

"When I got my hundred, I looked at my bat and looked upwards toward God and asked, 'It's been a tough time for me. Why did it take so long? Where did I lack in my commitment?"

Taking a dig at his critics who feel the man is just interested in playing the game to accumulate records, Tendulkar said: "In team meetings we never discuss records. We discuss how to win the match and what's the best way to do it. Along the way if somebody is able to break records and do something special then we always feel good about it."

He also revealed that he pays a deaf ear to people expressing themselves in the media and all kinds of negativity.

"There are going to be opinions (about) whatever I do and whatever number of years I play, but they need not always be correct. Something which will actually contribute in making me a better player is what I need to take notice of and not somebody who is passing his judgement by watching television. That person does not know what's going on in my mind or what's happening with my body. I am the one who knows what's happening with my mind and body or whether I am motivated enough or whether I am feeling passionate enough to be part of the team."

While Tendulkar did admit that he is getting on in years, he made no bones about the fact that his passion of the game is still intact and cited it as one of the big reasons for his hugely productive phase since the 2007 World Cup, especially between 2009 to 2011 during which he zoomed from 12,000 to 14,000 runs.

"I am madly in love with the sport. At this stage, I enjoy every little moment. I know it is a different body from what it was 20 years ago. But possibly, what a 17-yearold mind could not do, a 37-year-old mind could do, so somewhere it balances out. It depends on how you see it, whether you see the glass half-empty or half-full. I always see the glass as half-full."

Tendulkar also revealed that it was India's first foreign coach John Wright who motivated him to get to the impossible figure of 100 international centuries.

"I remember a long time ago, during the 2003 World Cup (in South Africa), John Wright had told me 'you should become the first player to score 100 international hundreds.' We used to have many chats and in one of them he said this. He probably said that just to push me. The coach's job is to give the player that push and probably John was doing the same."

An elder statesman in the team today, Tendulkar feels the aggression that the younger players show after reaching milestones isn't needed.

"I have not been much vocal, but the aggression need not always be vocal. It can come from within. If you look into the bowler's eye, he will know whether you are aggressive enough or not. Sometimes, it can be your body language, maybe in the way you just leave the ball. And then the way you respond to the bowler, the eye-to-eye contact, that conveys a lot of things."

One talented and aggressive youngster who has taken Indian cricket by storm is Virat Kohli. Many are touting the newly-appointed vice-captain to break the batting records that Tendulkar has set.

Asked if his record of 100 international centuries will ever be broken, Tendulkar said, "I don't know. I don't think you can predict that (whether it will be surpassed). I guess all the records are meant to be broken but I hope it's an Indian who breaks it."



Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournaments/sachin-tendulkar--an-indian-icon/top-stories/I-hope-an-Indian-breaks-my-100-tons-record-Sachin-Tendulkar/articleshow/12409586.cms