To be honest, I have a lot of stories with Paaji and memories that are countless. If I start to recall all of them, I will consume reams of newsprint. So instead, let me just say a couple of things. Growing up in Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar was second to God for me. He was a part of my growing up. My inspiration to play the sport has made me what I am. Cricket in our household meant Sachin Tendulkar. He was the yardstick in everything that we did. If you wanted to be the best, you needed to try and bat like Sachin Tendulkar. He was the defacto coaching manual. And then, to be able to play with him meant the world to me. It was like I was living my dream to share the same dressing room, discuss batting with him, and make plans together. We played years together for the Mumbai Indians, and Paaji was hugely supportive of me each time. Finally, in 2013 I even got to captain the man I considered my idol. Think about it for a second. He was my role model, and now I was captaining him in the IPL. These are things you dream about. In my case, dreams have come true. When I became the captain of MI, Paaji was always there for me as a sounding board. I could go up to him and discuss plans and draw on his experience. To have someone with his level of cricketing genius on the field was a huge plus for us in Mumbai.
Anjali Tendulkar on Sachin Tendulkar
I also want to talk about getting my Test cap from Paaji. The West Indies versus India series in November 2013, was all about Sachin Tendulkar. He was playing his 199th and 200th Test, and emotion was outpouring everywhere. With Paaji having announced that this was his last series, the sentiment was very different. Each of us was emotional and wanted to make him feel special every second he was with us. In fact, for us in the team, we had to do something special for him and ensure we won the series. It was deeply satisfying to be able to score a 100 and contribute to the team’s effort after we had been reduced to 83/5 at Eden Gardens. Paaji was very pleased, and so was I. To make my Test debut in his 199th Test and then make a contribution will always be a very special memory. I was able to score another hundred in his last Test match at the Wankhede, and it was fantastic to see Paaji score a very good 74. It was evidence of how focused he was even on his 200th Test.
For us who play international cricket scoring a hundred is a yardstick. It is one of the most difficult things to do. It is about concentration and commitment. And when you score 100 international hundreds over 24 years, you must be someone of a different level. Paaji was, and I was fortunate to be able to play with him and even captain him in the IPL.
Gideon Haigh on Sachin Tendulkar
*Extracted with permission from Simon and Schuster from Sachin@50
