Tendulkar reveals secret of his straight drive

Sachin Tendulkar turned 40 on Wednesday, and since then has been busy cutting cakes daily.

On Friday he cut another cake. This time it was in front of his young fans in Mumbai.

"The is the 40th cake I have cut," he declared, after doing the honours.

Also see: Tendulkar cuts 40th birthday cake with Anjali

After the cheering was over the veteran batsman had advice for young kids wanting to take up cricket.

"First and foremost, to be madly in love with cricket is important. You can't count the number of balls you have practiced or the number of balls you have bowled, you can't be counting; you have to just practice and practice," he said.

"When I was your age I used to practice for long hours. I would start at 7.30 in the morning and finish by 7.30 in the evening; eventually, my coach had to pack my bags and send me home because it was too dark to play cricket. My passion is still that and it is still alive," he added.

Also see: What you may not know about Sachin Tendulkar

What's extraordinary about Tendulkar despite him achieving so much success and fame is his ability to stay grounded and not get carried away. That characteristic, he said, was because of lessons taught to him by his father.

"I am following the simple advice my father gave me ages ago. Everything in life stays temporarily with you; the only thing which stays permanently with you is your nature, the person that you are.

"That stays till your last breath. So try and be a nice person first, whether you become a cricketer, lawyer, doctor or a hockey player," he said.

Also see: Kolkata celebrates Tendulkar's birthday at Eden

The master batsman also revealed the secret of his trademark straight drive, stressing that body balance is of utmost importance when playing the shot.

"Straight drive... all you need to do is... your head position has to be right. To play a straight drive, your balance has to be good. If your balance is not good, then you will not be able to play straight; you will either drag it with the bottom hand to midwicket or you will slice it to cover or cover point.

"But when your body is aligned nicely, you have good balance and good head position, then you can hit straight back next to the stumps," he said.

Also see: When Tendulkar made merry in April

Tendulkar also infomed the gathering that he never interferes with his son Arjun's cricket.

"He tells me what to do and what not to do. I don't interfere much; he has good coaches around and he listens to them.

"I occasionally share my thoughts, but he should have freedom to express himself on the field. And if there is need of minor adjustment to perform better, then I do that; otherwise, I don't interfere," he said.

Asked what is the most treasured gift he received in his life, Tendulkar replied: "I like music; I have great many personalities of Indian music and they all have gifted me something or the other, which means a lot to me.

"Lata didi has promised something special and that will be reaching me soon. Ashaji gave me something special of hers which finds a place in my music room.

"From the western side, Mark Knoplfer from Dire Straits has given me his personal guitar. I have got another guitar of U2 signed by the entire band. These are the things which are really dear to me."

Also see: Fans wish Sachin Tendulkar 'Happy Birthday'