New Delhi: Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, who needs no introduction, saluted Sachin Tendulkar in a one-on-one with The Telegraph on Tuesday evening.
The following are excerpts
On his memorable quote when he became the first to enter the 10,000 club in Test cricket
(Laughs) What I’d said is that a lot of mountaineers had climbed Mount Everest, but Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the ones remembered the most, as they were the first ones to do so. In saying that, I did suggest that others would also go past 10,000 runs.
His first thoughts on getting to that landmark
Actually, I had to immediately focus on the very next ball. However, there was a sense of achievement and, because of what I’d done, I punched the air with the bat... Such gestures weren’t associated with me.
When Allan Border joined him in the 10,000 club...
We were in Cape Town then (January 1993) and those were the days of faxes, so I remember faxing him a congratulatory message — ‘welcome to the club’.
If he’d expected the 15,000 peak to be scaled
When Courtney Walsh retired as the most successful bowler in Test cricket with 519 wickets, it was assumed that nobody would do better. But, look at what happened... Muttiah Muralidharan finished with 800!
Sachin getting past 15,000 runs in Test cricket
Well, 15,000 is a mind-boggling figure... That tells us not just about Sachin’s skills, but his temperament, fitness, the intensity he shows and his desire to excel... All that has got Sachin to where he is.
Whether anybody else could get to 15,000
This is one record which is likely to stay. In fact, Sachin still has plenty of runs left in him.
Sachin’s USP...
Everything that I’ve told you... His technique, the temperament — which is most important, his skills, the desire to be a notch above the others and his almost child-like enthusiasm... These qualities have helped him churn out big runs season after season, series after series, tour after tour.
Whether Sachin could get to his 100th international hundred here, on Wednesday
I was on the air when Sachin and Rahul Dravid were in their 20s and I said that one of them had the chance to get a hundred... Sachin’s on 33 and definitely has the opportunity. Having said that, the early session of play is going to be important.
If he’s ever discussed the 100th hundred bit with Sachin
It was back in December 2004, when Sachin got his 34th Test hundred (in Dhaka) that I told him I’d revised the ‘targets’ I’d set for him... That it had been revised to 15,000 Test runs and 100 international hundreds. One has been realised, while the other could be hours away only.
Possibility of Sachin having a restless night on Tuesday
He’s very experienced not to let these things (hype etc.) bother him. Also, he had those massive head phones which help him cut out the roar of the fans. We didn’t have them in our time.
Finally, on the legacy Sachin will leave once he’s through with cricket
(Laughs) We’ll talk about it when he does decide to retire.
Courtesy THE TELEGRAPH
