OMGSACHIN: I’m not Thinking of the 100th Ton, I Just Want To Add Value To My Team


Image Source : telegraph.co.uk

“I’m not thinking of records,” he says, ever so quietly. “I’m just thinking of enjoying this tour. The secret to any performance is not in chasing records. I think about, ‘What is the best way to enjoy the game, and how can I enhance that enjoyment factor?’

"If I enhance the enjoyment then, naturally, the standard of play becomes higher. To me, that is more important. If I’m playing well, things can happen. I don’t need to go around chasing them. It’s a process. You construct a solid foundation and build on it.”

The voice is mellifluous, the enunciation beautifully crisp. Tendulkar provides riveting company not because he seeks to drain his statements of any controversy but because he affects to care about their expression.

Do not suppose for a second, either, that he is unbothered by his looming milestone. In March, prior to reaching 85 during a febrile World Cup semi-final against Pakistan in Mohali, he was almost caught twice as the tension bit.

“The only easy chance was where I looked to chip the ball over midwicket, and I mistimed it!” he claims, making light of the lapses.

“For me, it’s not about breaking records or creating new ones. It’s about adding value to my team. Records will be set by me, they might be broken by someone else.