Originally published in AOC 59, September 2009.
When the call came through that Sachin Tendulkar was granting All Out Cricket a rare interview, Phil Walker rounded up the troops and went in armed with the best readers’ questions he could find…
Sachin is in town, and like hungry subjects summoned to swell the hall at a royal banquet, AOC is at Lord’s, suddenly within touching distance of cricket’s head of state.
Looking seriously cool in a dark blue suit, Sachin enters the media centre by the back entrance to avoid the cluster of visiting schoolkids. It’s just another day in singular Sachin’s surreal life – being ferried from one grasping hand to another, always dodging the crowds for fear of being mobbed.
Ever since he was a 15-year-old, not so much on the cusp of cricketing fame as about to redefine its parameters, Sachin has perfected a self-contained persona, engaged with the world and yet quietly detached from the hysteria.
And he has not merely survived with sanity intact and a few quid in the coffers. Over two decades of unnatural dedication he has stockpiled runs and records, racking up 85 international centuries from 159 Tests and 425 ODIs. Read those numbers again. He was the best in 1991, and he is still the best today.
But what to ask a man who has fielded every question a hack could ever dream up? The answer lay with the great AOC readership. We were inundated with questions, and after choosing the best, we asked the great man to pick a number between one and 40. His first choice was number 26. After that, we were away…
26. As a percentage, could you break your game down – how much of your game is talent, and how much hard work? Faisal, via email
(What follows is a pause to make Pinter blush – Sachin works at his own pace…) To start with, obviously it’s hard work, but you must have cricket in your heart first. You must care for the game, and then you will go to any extent towards achieving your targets. If you’re looking at the top level you need to have a big heart, to be somebody who’s fearless, and to combine being sensible with having controlled aggression. Hard work to me would be 70 per cent of the package, and talent 30 per cent. There are so many guys who were talented but they faded away because the discipline factor was missing. You’ve got to have discipline and balance in your life.
- Has the game always been squarely in your heart?
The game has always been in my heart. I started playing cricket at the age of six or seven. I picked up a cricket bat then, playing with tennis balls in the street, only because it was in my heart. I just loved playing cricket, and the passion and the feeling for this game just got bigger and bigger.
- And it never wavered?
Never. There have been tough times. My father always told me there would be tough times – it’s not going to be a smooth ride – but that is part and parcel of life, not just the life of a cricketer. In life, you wake up every morning and every day is not the same day. You don’t come back home every evening and say, ‘I’ve achieved all my targets’. Sometimes you don’t. And similarly in cricket – you are not going to score a hundred every day. There will be bad phases. But if you are prepared to learn from your mistakes – and you care and respect the game – you’ll be able to work over the obstacles. I’ve just followed that my whole life. There’s nothing bad to go through a lean patch. It’s you. And if you treat it like that you’ll overcome your obstacles much quicker than expected.”
24. Do you fancy a career in politics after you’ve finished? Doctor Dom, via email
Not at all. I don’t know, at this stage I cannot think of it. Maybe after I’ve stopped playing cricket many interests might be generated…
- So the Imran Khan route doesn’t interest you?
Not at this stage, no. As I say, cricket found its way into my heart first and then found its way into my brain. As you get to the competitive levels you’ve got to start using your brain, so maybe if that happens, I’ll think about it.
30. Do you dare think about the day when you won’t be playing cricket any more? Phil Jacobs, via email
At some stage it will happen, but I cannot be thinking about it. I can’t be thinking about it. Right now, I’m enjoying being out in the middle. When the time comes I’ll deal with that, but not yet. It’s like waiting for a bad patch to come. If it comes, fine, you deal with that, but you don’t wait for a bad patch, or else it will definitely come! It’s better not to think about that. Better to think about the next step rather than going a hundred steps.
19. Allan Border 5’9, Brian Lara 5’8, Donald Bradman 5’7, Sunil Gavaskar 5’5, Sachin Tendulkar 5’6 – do you think it helps to be a little fella when it comes to batting? Jeff Thomas, via email
I don’t know. It’s a tough thing to answer because I’ve never been 6’4” to compare. The only thing I can think of is that the centre of gravity is lower than the other guys and that helps the balance… maybe.
13. What is more beautiful to you? A poem, a painting, a song, or a cover drive? Chuck Balls, via www.alloutcricket.com
(Enormous pause) Definitely a cover drive at this stage of my life. If I had to start doing up my house then obviously a painting. I like paintings. I appreciate art. In all walks of life [one encounters] people are unique – people who are extremely gifted and talented. So I respect them and their profession. My father was a poet. I come from that kind of family. And my brother is a poet. And I appreciate paintings as well. Sadly I don’t read much, to be honest. I have read a few books but nothing on a serious note.
20. Is there a place in the world where you can go for a coffee and not get recognised? Jim Crace, via email
Of course, many places. It’s fine.
- And in England as well? Do you find you can mind your own business and tick over without being accosted in the street?
People recognise me for an autograph or two and then that’s it. I get privacy here.
- And in India? Is it possible at all to lead a relatively normal life?
Let’s be honest, we don’t lead normal lives in India. It’s difficult to go out and about freely. I’ve not been able to do that for almost 20 years, and that is how I know my life in India, because I’m so used to it. It’s almost 65 per cent of my life.
- Are you comfortable with that?
I’ve learnt to be with these things, and I feel comfortable. I’ve no complaints. That kind of lifestyle is something which makes me look forward to these kind of breaks in England or wherever I go. I can do normal things. I can play with my children in the park, all those things I can look forward to.
18. What’s the fastest spell you’ve ever faced? Irfan Ahmed, via email
(Another pause) There have been many, actually. In Australia in 1999 Brett Lee was bowling consistently 153-154kmh, with reasonable pace and bounce.
- You’ve always scored runs on Australian pitches, so the pace, the bounce, the carry suits your game and traditionally it hasn’t suited all Indian players…
I’ve enjoyed playing against Australia, and I’ve had reasonable success against them. And I’ve enjoyed touring that country. It’s a terrific place to play cricket. A touring team always enjoys challenging the Australian team, and on the last couple of tours we’ve been able to challenge them. So it’s tied in to how well you’ve played in that country, and if you’ve played well you have fond memories. Especially when you’re sat in the dressing room you’ll always be talking about it, ‘You remember what happened in Sydney?’ or ‘You remember Perth?’ It’s important to have good tours to remember.
4. Waqar hit you in the face in the Test you both debuted in and you just carried on batting. You’ve played for six (and counting) more years than him – two fingers? Greg Hensman, via www.alloutcricket.com
There were no speed guns back then, but that was quick, that was quick. Especially for a 16-year-old who hadn’t experienced that kind of speed in domestic cricket. I broke my nose in the fourth Test. I was batting on two, and we were in a terrible position. We’d drawn three Test matches, and the last Test match, in the third innings we were 34-4 when I walked in to bat and a day and a half to go. But even after I had broken my nose I continued batting after that, and we saved that game. That changed the way I approached Test cricket and I thought it made me a better cricketer because it brought the best out of me. I got even more determined after getting hit. I became ready to take it on; I felt that it was an important phase in my career, because after getting hit, either you lose confidence or you become fearless. Fortunately for me it worked.
2. With the ascendancy of Twenty20, do you think we are seeing the final days of Test cricket? Phill Jupitus (the very same), via twitter
I don’t think so. I think Twenty20 is the kind of format where you have to keep up with the pace. It can be exciting, and without any doubt it brings in a lot more people to cricket, which is extremely important. As a cricketer I want to see the game more and more globalised.
- And this won’t be to the detriment of the five-day game?
Not really, because Test cricket is far more challenging. In Test cricket a player needs to be a technician. Playing on the first day before lunch, a good player should be able to know how the surface will play on the third day, and the fourth day. And sometimes you start playing accordingly. And that never happens in Twenty20. To me, Twenty20 is like desserts. They’re exciting, they taste good, but they can never fill up your stomach, so you’ve still got to have your meaty course, which is Test cricket. Your main course is Test cricket, otherwise it’s just cheesecake…
35. Have you ever seen Slumdog Millionaire? Lorraine Bloom, via email
Yes I have. I think it’s a great idea – a simple thought process that works very well. It’s about what a child goes through. They’ve obviously gone to the areas of Mumbai where a normal person wouldn’t go, but it’s respectful of Mumbai as a city, and it’s pleasing to see it become so successful across the world.
And finally, a question from AOC – your fantasy slip cordon, please sir…
Second slip would be Mark Waugh – I’m keeping first slip open to me – third slip would be Brian McMillan from South Africa. Gully would be the West Indian Roger Harper, and for my keeper I would have Dhoni. I think people tend to concentrate more on Dhoni’s batting but I think his keeping also is very good. If you see his stumpings, he is very quick, as quick as anyone.
- Is he as popular as you yet?
If you see all the [Indian] cricketers, they are all popular. Even the guys who have been around for a while, five, six years maybe, they can’t move around freely. That is just the reality in India.
And with that, our time is up. Sachin nods, shakes AOC’s hand and politely departs to the next engagement. Even in cosmopolitan London, thousands of miles from the baying crowds of Mumbai where Sachin lives in hilltop seclusion, he is still a hugely saleable commodity.
In many respects Sachin is a product of our times, revered way beyond any proportional limits, attached to 25 commercial ventures, a sportsman with the talent and drive to embody the whole industry, and the nous to exploit his position. But in another, deeper respect, Tendulkar is a throwback. A cricketer in thrall to his craft, humbled by the game, and protective of it, too, a bastion for everything good that cricket still stands for. I’m not sure what’s the greater achievement: 85 hundreds for India, or holding on to his dignity through all the madness. Tough one.
AOC spent 30 minutes in his presence, and at no time did the occasion seem too big for the rest of us hanging on his every word. And the reason? It’s the game. It’s bigger than anyone. Cricket has given him everything, and to repay the honour, Sachin Tendulkar has resolved to give it all back.
Photography: Sam Bowles of The Potrait Collective
