SACHIN TALKS CRICKET AND NOTHING ELSE: RAJPUT

As the news of Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement broke out, it was the prime subject of talk all over the country and even the world, going by the trending topics on twitter. It was no surprise then that at the end of play on day 2 at Hubli, the captain and coach opened up on their experiences with Tendulkar.

Rajput, who was Sachin’s first captain at the first class level, stopped short of calling himself Sachin’s lucky charm.

I can only see those memories because whenever I was the captain, he made hundreds and he was selected for the Indian team. After Ranji Trophy, I was the captain for the Rest of India for the Irani Cup, he got a hundred and he got selected for the Pakistan tour,” he gushed. On a little more serious note, he stressed what has been said time and again about Tendulkar and his remarkable virtues. “The best part is that what I have been seeing from his younger days and till now he has got the same hunger for runs. He values his wicket and he is still so much passionate about being there. That’s tremendous if you are playing for 24 years.

why he is great. He was made for cricket and he just lives cricket. Everytime you speak to him, he talks cricket, he discusses cricket. Cricket, cricket, nothing else. Even now when he comes to BKC, he practises for two hours. Sometimes I tell him there is no need for you to practice for so long, you have achieved everything. He says no. With cricket he will never take a back seat.” Rajput shared a few interesting anecdotes of Sachin’s playing days as well. One was his first memory of meeting Tendulkar – “He was 15 when I first met him. He was very shy. But Mumbai tradition, make them feel a part of the team. No one is made to feel he is new.

his first match, I was run out for 99. I told him don’t worry about me, you get a hundred and he got a hundred on debut.” The next involved the man who is currently the biggest batting sensation in India. “Once we were going to New Zealand with the Under-19 team and Virat(Kohli) wanted to talk to him. I told him that and he said okay. He kept on talking. He wanted to go somewhere, he said I will speak for 15 minutes but he spoke for almost 45 minutes. He just gets lost when he talks about cricket. Any youngster who goes to him or the senior, he will talk the same way…”

 http://facebook.com/srtendulkarfanclub