CHILDHOOD COACH CREDITS SACHIN TENDULKAR FOR MS DHONI'S SUCCESS

From a marauder to a finisher, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's journey as a batsman makes for an interesting study. For someone who burst onto the scene in 2005 with a swashbuckling 148 against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam, the Dhoni of present believes in playing percentage cricket and staying at the crease till the end.

His childhood coach Chanchal Bhattacharya credits batting legend Sachin Tendulkar for the change in mindset. "As a youngster, if Dhoni scored 10 runs, it would contain at least one big hit. But that is the Dhoni of old. Now he is a man who likes to take calculative risk. Yes, he will still hit the bad ball and take risks, but he has also understood the importance of defending and taking singles. And the man behind this is none other than Tendulkar. He taught Dhoni the importance of planning the innings to put pressure on opposition teams," he told Mail Today.

Interestingly, the general notion is that Dhoni and former India captain Sourav Ganguly don't belong to the same page. But Bhattacharya squashes that rumour as well.

"Dhoni realises the role Ganguly played in making him the name he is today. Had Ganguly not provided him the opportunity to bat at No. 3 against Pakistan that day, who knows if we would ever have a Dhoni? These are all rumours. He has utmost respect for Dada," he said.

SACHIN TENDULKAR, REFUSED TO TAKE OFF SHIRTS AT LORD’S: RAJIV SHUKLA

He was the manager of the Indian cricket team during its memorable Natwest Trophy triumph over England at Lord’s way back in 2002 and Rajiv Shukla on Monday revealed that Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman refused then skipper Sourav Ganguly’s request of taking off their shirts and waving it.

Shukla, who was sitting by Ganguly’s side at the Lord’s balcony, recollected that evening’s incident.

“I remember Sourav wanted to give it back to Andrew Flintoff, who had taken off his jersey and waved at the crowd in Mumbai. Actually Sourav wanted the whole team to take off their jerseys and wave it. But Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman all had politely declined Sourav’s request of doing the same,” Shukla said at a ‘Cricket Conclave’ organised by a private channel.

His revelation came in the context of whether ‘Cricket remains a Gentleman’s Game’ after all these years. “It’s upto the individual to decide what he wants to do and what does gentleman’s game mean to him,” Shukla said.

SACHIN TENDULKAR, SOURAV GANGULY TO BE PART OF WORLD CUP TV SHOW

It is learnt that the duo will express their expert views in a studio for a television news channel before and during the World Cup.

Many Sachin Tendulkar fans felt that he would never venture into media-related activities, but the World Cup has afforded him an opportunity to be part of the electronic media. Sourav Ganguly of course has been a commentator since 2009 and is already rated high for his frank views on the game.

A promo for the show is scheduled to be shot today at the Wankhede Stadium, the very venue of Sachin Tendulkar's final Test for India – against West Indies in November 2013.

It can be recalled that Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly formed a great opening pair in one-day cricket and their world record partnership of 252 against Sri Lanka in the 1998 Singer-Akai Nidahas Trophy at Colombo helped India to a rare victory over the Lankans during that period. Sourav Ganguly will be in Mumbai for commentary and studio work during the India vs England tri-series game on Friday.

For the record, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly opened in 136 ODI innings and scored 6609 runs at an average of 49.32.