The Sachin I know..............................

by Rajan Bala.

The first meeting I had with Sachin was arranged by hemant kenkre, a former bombay university cricketer and one of those who had a role to play in his progress. Hemant is a young friend, and I have known him for many years. Sunil Gavaskar is his cousin. He is also Sunil's fan and modelled his batsmanship on Sunil's. He did not play at the level he hoped to.Such individuals do have the knack of recognoizing abilities in others and hemant was convinced that sachin was very special.

So when I sought his assistance to have a meeting with sachin,he was very excited. He told me, "I cannot believe you have not met him on a one-to-one basis.I am sure he would be delighted".

It was during a Ranji Trophy game at the wankhede stadium that the meeting took place. We had seen each other ofcourse, but had never talked like I had with so many cricketers in the past. To me he remained a child, though he had already made waves with test centuries in England, Australia and South Africa. I can admit now that I did not know what to say to him, hough he had been briefed that I had been around a long time in the business,even before he was born.

That meeting drew me to him.It was during that meeting that I talked to him about his technique and his tendency to get drawn to the widish half volley outside the offstump.

I am fortunate to have a good memory atleast for cricket facts and figures, but i would have to confess that I do not remember very much of what we talked about at our first meeting.

The second time we had this sort of meeting was at his residence in Bandra East. I remember it was his mother's birthday. His wife, Anjali, a very sweet girl,made the tea. We talked about the game. Anjali did not stay,cricket conversation probably not being her cup of tea. During the meeting the bell rang and sachin opened the door. There were two young girls at the door. They had come seeking his autograph. He obliged with a smile.

Sachin is the second cricketer I have been fascinated by. The first is Mansur ali khan pataudi. There were a variety of factors responsible for it. But after him it is sachin,and the factors are different. The common bond between them is that both are excellent human beings.

Thereafter we have met while on tours, a brief word here and there. When Ajit Wadekar used to be the cricket manager,both sachin and vinod kambli would turn up at his room. Many a time I would be there,too, and views were exchanged. The age difference between us, however, was a deterrent to becoming close friends. One could only be an uncle of sorts. The amazing thing is Ravi Shastri, who i am very fond of, calls me "uncle". Infact, when all sachin on the phone, I introduce myself as Mr. Bala.

I remember in Newzealand we spent some time together. This was inChristchurch and I was at the motel bar. Sachin and salil ankola had been out shopping. They dropped in at the bar and sachin had some wine. Newzealand wine is excellent like their choclates, icecream and butter.

When he became captain of the country, I met him and congratulated him. Against South Africa in Kanpur, I called him up at the hotel the team was staying at. There was intense security. But he left instructions at the reception and I was escorted to his room. He talked about the weight of his bat and his technique. He is the sort who asks questions, especially if he feels that the person he is talking to knows about the game. I remember he once asked about West indies fast bowling tactics. I told him that their bowlers had this knack of pushing a batsman back with shortpitched stuff. Then they would bowl the wide half volley. Said sachin, "this means that if u can leave that one alone, you get them thinking". I told him to chat with sunil gavaskar,the indian batsman who had made the most runs against the west indies. He replied , "i have already spoken to him".

It was when I asked him how he got to bowl the last over in th hero cup semi-final against South Africa at the Eden gardens in Calcutta ,that he came up with information that sent his stock very high in my estimation. South Africa needed 6 runs to win in the final over, and there was much discussion as who should bowl it. Sachin did not say if any senior and regular bowlers had refused to take the responsibilty, but helped matters by explaining."I sensed hesitation all arond me. And so before anybody could make a move I made it. I asked the skipper for the ball. I think something within me told me that I would not fail. And, anyway, I have always taken chances in the game. But I did something when I bowled the last delivery. I asked the wicket keepr, Vijay Yadav, to go and stand behind on the 30 yard circle. I explained to him, "they need four from the last ball. If you stand up and miss it will be 4 byes and they would win. If you are back there,the most they willl get is one. I was happy that it succeeded".

I believe when we went to South Africa he was under intense pressure. That was because he did not get the bwolers he wanted, like Salil Ankola, Abey Kuruvilla to assist Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad. He is a great believer in the effectiveness of fast bowling, having been an aspiring fast bowler himself. The problem was during his tenure as captain he rarely got the combination that he wanted. But he never spoke out against the selection committee, because, if nothing else, sachin is convinced that controversy is not good for the game.

Many a time I have been inclined to ask him why he suffers fools and takes all the restrictions lying down. I know that he would not answer. Infact, he would only smile and say that things would change. Things did not change for him as he lost the captaincy. He was very hurt. Infact, a couple of days after he had been stripped of the captaincy he went to Pune for the benefit game of a former cricketer's cause. I was there. He had a sad smile on his face. He cheered up once Vinod kambli began to sing.

I went to Ahmedabad for the benefit game of Shishir Hattangadi. I remember sachin went to different functions straight from the airport, obliging potential sponsors whom had assured Shishir of all support. That night we all went to the disco and sachin enjoyed himself in the company of his team-mates. Abey kuruvilla whose long legs are a sight, was the most comical and sachin described the fast bowler's way of dancing as "picking up a coin".

I think the experiences he has had over the last decade have made him take stock of people and situations, which is only to be expected. It is a sign of his growing maturity.

I remember in Newzealand, the photgrapher, Pradeep Madhani, asking me to speak to sachin about shooting for Action Shoes. When I approached sachin, he smiled and said , "no problem". Sure there was a financial deal between him and Action shoes, but the photographer, Pradeep, did not get the time he wanted. He was not sure whether he could keep after sachin.

In England, in 1996, he was right behind the captain, azharuddin, who was going thru a bad spell. There had been the Sidhu fracas by the time I reached Edgbaston. I met sachin and asked him whether everything was allright within the team. His reply cheered me, "why should there be anything wrong?everything is all right when the team is doing well". It was not said tongue in cheek.

He is a loyalist. He gives hundred percent and expects the same. But his tenure as the captain, he did not get it.

His batsmanship has brought tears to my eyes, like Gavaskar's and Vishwanath's used to. Such amazing skill and so much comittment. In Cape Town he played brilliantly and I was applauding from the press box, something I have never done before.

Whenever we meet, the question he asks is, "how r u?". know that will have access to him anytime i want , but that makes it all the more difficult to ask him to spare time. Basically what does one talk to him about? yes, the game. But then that is his obsession and I tend to think he would like time to himself.

In kanpur I was sitting on the grass. I was far away from the practice. He walked up and asked me if everything was all right. I told him that I was sitting in the sun because it was chilly in the shade.

I tend to agree with Viv Richards when he says that there is very little one can tell sachin, except encourage him to excel.

It is true that he is a wonderful listener. He did ask me about hiscaptaincy in Johanessburg, in the third test India came so close to winning. Rain prevented a victory, and i remember sachin saying, "we should have luck sometimes". It was very dissapointing for him.

I never expected him to lose thecaptaincy. so it wasn't a surprise when he refused the vice captaincy recently. He will get everything back on his own terms and the time is not far off.

From what I have known of sachin I think he is bloody marvellous. It is natural to feel protective towards him. That is, wish him and pray for him from afar.

A Sachin Tendulkar does not arrive everyday. Maybe once in a century. We are priveleged to be able to watch him play and deal with him once in a while.