Former Team India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game. Tendulkar holds the record for most runs in ODIs and Tests and also has the highest number of international centuries (100). The ‘master blaster’ – as he is fondly known for his batting tricks – has also twice led India on a short stint.
Although he was not as successful with the management as he was with the batting, Tendulkar has now shared the story of an incident that took place under his leadership during the tour of Australia. Tendulkar recalled how he had to put a young teammate in place after he was “kidnapped” during a practice match on the Australian tour. The former India star also revealed the stern warning he gave his team-mate when he “put his arms around his shoulders”.
“I was the captain of the team and we are touring Australia. One of the junior players — it was his first tour — got carried away, played with the crowd and ended up giving away two runs where it was a single. So after I finished I calmly called him and put my arms around him. No one else knew what I was telling him, but he knew he couldn’t afford it. Because I said, ‘If you do that again, I’ll send you back home. You will not go back to the hotel, you will be back in India,” Tendulkar revealed at an event hosted by Infosys. “When you play for India, nothing is at stake. That’s a huge honor. There are millions of people who want to be in your shoes. Don’t take it for granted,” the former India cricketer further said.
Tendulkar led India in 25 Tests but won only four, conceded defeat in nine, while 12 ended in draws. India had a poor winning percentage of 31 under Tendulkar in ODIs (73 matches).
