"Sometimes, things happen in life which you can't explain'" Sachin Tendulkar said. (TOI Photo)
MUMBAI: The mood was set early on Sunday morning when a popular Hindi news channel ran a headline, 'Kya bolenge Sachin' in one of their bulletins.
Speculation had been rife since Friday, when the company that manages him, World Sports Group, had sent an invite for a press conference to "celebrate his 100 international centuries", that Sachin Tendulkar would make some sensational announcement on retirement, from ODIs probably.
Sadly, for all Tendulkar's critics, who had probably kept their retirement tributes ready, there was no such announcement in probably his longest-ever media interaction which went on for more than an hour.
In fact, Tendulkar, who would turn 39 on April 24, said the decision to retire from cricket will be his alone. "I feel that when I retire is something that I would decide, because when I started it was not decided by someone else. Those who are advising me about retirement did not bring me in the team. I get my strength from my coaches and family," he said, lashing out at some legendary former cricketers, who had wanted Tendulkar to follow in the footsteps of Rahul Dravid, who announced his retirement on March 8.
However, one wonders what the maestro meant by this as it were the selectors who brought him into the Indian team in 1989 and they have the power to drop him, or other player.
"A lot of people have lot of opinions, but all of them needn't be correct. I also feel that sometimes all that such people have is opinions and nothing else," he thundered, as the media kept pestering him on the 'R' word.
In the prolonged session, Tendulkar spoke on many issues and recalled several interesting anecdotes from his glorious career and early life, some of which were spoken about for the first time.
When the Chappell-Ganguly war broke out in Zimbabwe in 2005, Tendulkar had stated that such things shouldn't come out in the open and the sanctity of the dressing room should be maintained. His opinions haven't changed after nearly eight years.
There was tension in the dressing room during the CB Series as senior pro Virender Sehwag and skipper MS Dhoni didn't see eye to eye over the controversial rotational policy involving senior players. "I think every individual thinks differently. 10 people will have 10 different opinions. I think team discussions should be within the team," Tendulkar said.
He, interestingly, added, "I did not follow that press conference (by Dhoni and Sehwag). I don't keep in touch with that. I need to know what the intentions were because I wouldn't want to make loose statements. You have to ask the people who made those comments, what their intentions were."
Tendulkar also disagreed with the sentiment that a sportsman should quit when he is at the peak of his powers. "I feel those who say you should retire at the top are selfish because when you are at the top you should serve the country instead of retiring."
Stating that he is still "madly in love" with cricket, Tendulkar was non-committal about his desire to play on in the ODIs and play in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand where India will enter the tournament as defending champions.
"When this question was asked in 2007 (about him playing the 2011 edition), it was tough for me to answer. It's the same situation today; I don't know what to say about 2015. I will keep trying, the rest is in God's hands. I just want to enjoy the game. I don't want to set targets."
About his 100th international hundred, which took a while in coming, he said, "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."
Tendulkar paid obeisance at the Siddhivinayak temple, a day after he returned home from Dhaka. Was it thanksgiving or whether it was to say sorry? After all, he claims he had questioned the Almighty over 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 commitment?'"
He said that he pays a deaf ear to people expressing themselves in the media and all kinds of negativity.
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.'
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."
Speculation had been rife since Friday, when the company that manages him, World Sports Group, had sent an invite for a press conference to "celebrate his 100 international centuries", that Sachin Tendulkar would make some sensational announcement on retirement, from ODIs probably.
Sadly, for all Tendulkar's critics, who had probably kept their retirement tributes ready, there was no such announcement in probably his longest-ever media interaction which went on for more than an hour.
In fact, Tendulkar, who would turn 39 on April 24, said the decision to retire from cricket will be his alone. "I feel that when I retire is something that I would decide, because when I started it was not decided by someone else. Those who are advising me about retirement did not bring me in the team. I get my strength from my coaches and family," he said, lashing out at some legendary former cricketers, who had wanted Tendulkar to follow in the footsteps of Rahul Dravid, who announced his retirement on March 8.
However, one wonders what the maestro meant by this as it were the selectors who brought him into the Indian team in 1989 and they have the power to drop him, or other player.
"A lot of people have lot of opinions, but all of them needn't be correct. I also feel that sometimes all that such people have is opinions and nothing else," he thundered, as the media kept pestering him on the 'R' word.
In the prolonged session, Tendulkar spoke on many issues and recalled several interesting anecdotes from his glorious career and early life, some of which were spoken about for the first time.
When the Chappell-Ganguly war broke out in Zimbabwe in 2005, Tendulkar had stated that such things shouldn't come out in the open and the sanctity of the dressing room should be maintained. His opinions haven't changed after nearly eight years.
There was tension in the dressing room during the CB Series as senior pro Virender Sehwag and skipper MS Dhoni didn't see eye to eye over the controversial rotational policy involving senior players. "I think every individual thinks differently. 10 people will have 10 different opinions. I think team discussions should be within the team," Tendulkar said.
He, interestingly, added, "I did not follow that press conference (by Dhoni and Sehwag). I don't keep in touch with that. I need to know what the intentions were because I wouldn't want to make loose statements. You have to ask the people who made those comments, what their intentions were."
Tendulkar also disagreed with the sentiment that a sportsman should quit when he is at the peak of his powers. "I feel those who say you should retire at the top are selfish because when you are at the top you should serve the country instead of retiring."
Stating that he is still "madly in love" with cricket, Tendulkar was non-committal about his desire to play on in the ODIs and play in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand where India will enter the tournament as defending champions.
"When this question was asked in 2007 (about him playing the 2011 edition), it was tough for me to answer. It's the same situation today; I don't know what to say about 2015. I will keep trying, the rest is in God's hands. I just want to enjoy the game. I don't want to set targets."
About his 100th international hundred, which took a while in coming, he said, "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."
Tendulkar paid obeisance at the Siddhivinayak temple, a day after he returned home from Dhaka. Was it thanksgiving or whether it was to say sorry? After all, he claims he had questioned the Almighty over 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 commitment?'"
He said that he pays a deaf ear to people expressing themselves in the media and all kinds of negativity.
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.'
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."
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