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- 'I would urge everyone to support our team'
- 'I remember, after I started playing for India, for a while I played with a blank bat because tobacco companies had approached me and I didn't want to be associated with them'
He played in six successive World Cups since 1992, including winning the last one in 2011 at home, and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar is now left wondering what to do when the 2015 event begins later this month.
“I will be going to Australia soon; I am really looking forward to this experience because this is the first time that I won't be playing. It's a new experience for me but I am looking forward to it,” Tendulkar said in Mumbai on Saturday at the launch of MRF’s special World Cup edition tyre -- ZSPORT.
The master batsman revealed how India’s triumph at the 1983 World Cup inspired him when he was growing up.
“The World Cup journey started for me in 1983. I watched India win an excellent final against West Indies and Kapil paaji holding that beautiful trophy in the balcony of Lord’s. The next experience which was even greater, I was a ball boy at the Wankhede stadium and I got to see all the superstars of Indian cricket from a close vicinity. And then to complete that circle and become an ambassador of 2011 and 2015 World Cup it feels like I have done a full circle, whatever has come my way, right from my first World Cup in 1992 till the last World Cup and now,” he added.
Tendulkar, who is the brand ambassador of the ICC World Cup, urged the fans to get behind Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team as they attempt to defend their title.
“Something that really matters to a sportsman is genuine support and that is what I would like to extend. Obviously you want them to go out and thrash the opposition, and win each and every match but sometimes that is not possible. Sometimes you have to accept defeat but that can also be a learning experience in a tournament like the World Cup,” Tendulkar said.
“Because there are going to be difficult moments, there are going to be obstacles along the way but not just the team, if you all are together, it becomes inspiring for the players to move forward, knowing that the nation is not sitting on top of the head but the nation is moving ahead along with it. I would urge everyone to support our team,” he added.
Tendulkar also reflected on his long association with MRF which started way back during his school days when he landed at the Chennai-based academy to train under the legendary Dennis Lillee in his quest to become a fast bowler.
“My association with MRF started when I was a 12-year-old wanting to become a fast bowler. I was a batsman but I wanted to become a fast bowling all-rounder. Luckily, before leaving from Mumbai to Chennai, my brother Ajit told me to carry the kitbag ‘just in case you (I was) needed to bat’.
“In retrospect that was the wisest decision because the first session itself Dennis came to me and said ‘I think it's a better option for you to put your pads on and get in the nets’,” Tendulkar reminisced said.
What went against Tendulkar’s hopes of becoming a fast bowler was his height because of which he switched to leg-spin.
“I actually had that but unfortunately because I am vertically challenged, obviously it was a little difficult to hold the seam upright and I preferred to bowl leg-spin which was an easier option looking at my physique.
“I remember, after I started playing for India, for a while I played with a blank bat only for the reason that tobacco companies had approached me and I didn't want to be associated with tobacco companies. I played with the blank bat also during the World Cup (1992). In the middle of that World Cup, Mark Mascarenhas my manager then, gave me the wonderful news that MRF had signed a contract to sponsor my bat stickers,” he said.