Author: WebDesk

I am not here to comment on how good Sachin Tendulkar was as a player. He was the greatest. Period. What I would rather like to do is share two stories that will help us understand Sachin better. Each time Sachin came to Kolkata we would make it a point to go to the Kali temple together. One time it was on a Sunday afternoon when the roads were half empty with most taking their leisurely siesta. We were in South Kolkata on Hazra more, a kilometre away from the Kalighat Kali Temple. Accompanying us was Harbhajan Singh who was…

I have been a fan of Sachin Sir since I was in class V. I developed an interest in cricket watching him. May I say that I used to play cricket in school and later on in life also got selected for LS College in an Inter College tournament. But I was never given an opportunity to play and our games teacher ridiculed me once by asking me to go and meet Sachin Sir if I was a diehard fan. He had no idea what Sachin Sir meant to me and in fact had done me a favor. Back…

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Aakash Chopra on Sachin Tendulkar My first interaction with Sachin happened in Ahmedabad when I was named in the Indian team for the first time for a series against New Zealand in October 2003. Like everyone else, I also looked up to him as that idol, a maestro that you always thought was the pinnacle and exactly where you aspired to be if you could go that far. I realised early that Sachin goes to great lengths to make you feel comfortable and part of the group. Because he always knew that all these kids idolised him, and he…



Sachin and I burst into the sports scene almost simultaneously, and thereafter our careers have had very similar trajectories. Even today, there are several similarities. While I continue to play the sport for enjoyment rather than for any career goal, Sachin, too, is doing the same and playing certain tournaments. This is because of his love for the sport. Cricket is all he knows, and for someone as dedicated and passionate, it is near impossible to completely give it up. With Sachin in the 1990s, there was something unique. Almost everyone in India would call him by his first name,…

Bharath Ramaraj Overview Two wins and two losses – Royal Challengers Bangalore’s progress report so far. After getting back to winning ways against the bottom-placed Delhi Capitals, the Faf du Plessis-led side would want to string together some victories and gain momentum. For that to happen, both their engine rooms – batting and bowling units – have to find top gear. If middle and slog-overs bowling was a problem in a couple of games, then it was the batting department that let them down against Delhi as they lost five wickets for 43 runs. Anuj Rawat, who came…

Ishan Kishan shows his full potential IPL hundreds are so rare that it’s nearly impossible to overshadow one. Ishan Kishan did just that at the Wankhede. So ferocious was his assault on Kolkata’s bowlers that the result was a foregone conclusion even before the innings reached the halfway mark. In his three previous innings this season, Kishan had made a total of 73 runs from 60 balls – middling returns at a mediocre strike-rate. Kolkata saw the form that catapulted him into the Indian side. Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Sunil Narine all had to be taken out of…

Many years ago, Jordi Cruyff spoke about his experience of playing in a Barcelona team coached by Johan Cruyff. Cruyff senior wasn’t just one of the greatest to kick a ball. He was also a European Cup-winning coach, one whose playing philosophy has been the most influential in modern football. “On the training field, if I made a mistake then my father would have a go at me more than anyone else,” said Jordi. “He wanted to show that he wasn’t doing me any favours. I think the players respected that, but they also felt sorry for…