'All I wanted to do as a child was to pick up a cricket bat, play cricket for India and chase my dream.'
'My dream started when I was only ten years old.'
Rediff.com's Harish Kotian listens in.
Batting icon Sachin Tendulkar declared that winning the 50-overs World Cup in 2011 was the greatest moment of his illustrious 24-year-old cricketing career and recalled that India's 1983 World Cup triumph was the moment which changed his life.
"There is no toss up there; it's the World Cup final (in 2011). I don't think there is a greater cricketing moment for me in my life. Without any doubt, that sits right at the top," Tendulkar said in Mumbai on Thursday, April 13, at the launch of the trailer for the film Sachin: A Billion Dreams.
One of the finest batsmen to have played the game, Tendulkar retired in 2013 after a record-breaking career of 200 Tests in which he scored a record 15,921 runs, having hit the most number of centuries ever: 51.
Tendulkar -- who will turn 44 on April 24 -- made his international debut as a 16 year old in 1989. He is the only cricketer to have played 200 Tests and hit a record 100 centuries in international cricket.
India's inaugural World Cup victory was the turning point in his life, Tendulkar said.
"That was one moment which changed my life -- when I saw Kapil Dev holding that beautiful trophy. That was the moment, and then I was chasing my dream, trying to get that and it eventually happened. I don't think anything gets better than that," he said.
Winning the World Cup was his dream ever since he took up cricket, he added.
"All I wanted to do as a child was to pick up a cricket bat, play cricket for India and chase my dream. My dream started when I was only ten years old. I wanted to win the World Cup for India and hold the trophy and I started playing cricket," he said.
Winning the 2011 World Cup on his home ground, the Wankhede stadium, in front of his beloved fans made the occasion extra special for Tendulkar.
"Just 2, 3 days ago I was travelling with my daughter (Sara). She came to watch the IPL match and I asked her, 'Do you remember how that evening was, 2nd of April?'"
"She said it was incredible. It took us hours to get from the Wankhede to the Taj (the hotel where the Indian team was staying). The whole country went berserk and that is one moment I wanted to live for," he added.
The batting icon asked fans to watch Sachin: A Billion Dreams, which releases on May 26.
"Over the 24 years that I played for India the kind of love you showered on me and the way you supported me, that is what we have covered," he said.
"This film is not just about my cricket, but there are a lot other factors, other chapters in my life and that is something which we want to show everyone."
Videos: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff.com
