He might be standing on a heap of runs today but at the start of his career, a nervous Sachin Tendulkar had doubts on whether he actually belonged to the game of cricket. The batting maestro, who is the only batsman in the world to have more than 12,000 Test runs under his belt, the brief period of uncertainty was followed by a moment in 1992 when he got the feeling that he had it in him to conquer the cricket world.
The champion batsman also admitted that he has felt the burden of expectations every time he has stepped on the field.
On being asked about his Test debut against Pakistan in 1989, Tendulkar said he has 'vague' memories of the tour as excitement got the better of him then.
"Probably just for the first Test match, I felt I was out of place, I was unsure whether I belonged here or not, I was just hoping for another opportunity. In the second Test match I had decided that come what may I am going to spend minimum 45 minutes here and then see what happens because the players around me told me that, the first fifteen minutes are always tough and once you have stayed there for longer than 25 or 30 minutes then things start changing gradually."
Tendulkar, who has earned respect from all quarters, said coping with pressure sometimes become difficult.
"It's not that easy to switch off from all these things, our sub-conscious mind grasps all these things and somewhere it is stored. Even if you don't want to focus on all these things, the room-service guy will remind you of it, so somewhere it's stored and that's the last thing you want, you want to go out there with a blank mind. You just have to go out and bat, watch the ball as closely as possible and bat," he said.
His idol -- legendary Gavaskar, first Indian to enter 10,000 runs club, said what makes Tendulkar successful than any other batsman in the world is his 'balance' on the field as well as off-field.
"Balance, which is the most important thing, he has got balance on the field and that is helped by a great extent by balance off the field. Without balance, so many potentially great cricketers have been lost, it's the balance off the field which is so important and to have that balance off the field you need people around you who will make sure that you have your feet on the ground, the family becomes such an important aspect in keeping that balance," Gavaskar said.
In his illustrious career, Tendulkar has got almost every record by his name but Gavaskar wants him to win for one more time the coveted World Cup for India.
"I think I did that (advising Tendulkar) four years ago so I am not going to do that but what I will do is, not advise him, but I will make a plea - please regain the World Cup for us in 2011," Gavaskar said when asked what advise he would give to the master batsman at this stage of his career.
Responding to this, Tendulkar too admitted that he misses that trophy in his dazzling cupboard.
"It has always been a dream because that is the ultimate thing you can get for your country. We came so close to it in 2003. It is definitely by far the best World Cup that I have played, and we came so close to it but I thought just in the finals, we tried a little too hard to get the Cup back home," he said.
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