Mumbai: Sunil Gavaskar was the closest Sachin Tendulkar had as a batting mentor throughout his career. The two would discuss the technical aspects of batsmanship a good deal in that time. Despite all his commitments to his contracted columns, Gavaskar was gracious in granting time to speak to Deccan Chronicle on what he thought of the other Little Master's contribution to world cricket and Indian cricket.
Q: Sunny, your assessment of Sachin Tendulkar's contribution to Indian cricket and world cricket. According to you, what would be the most prominent reason for his success over such an elongated period of time?
A: Sachin's contribution to cricket is immeasurable. The contributions he has made on the field we all know -the victories that he got for the country in all formats of the game.
His contribution off the field in being the role model that he has been to millions of young Indians not only inspiring them to be successful but also how to handle success. I think that contribution is very significant because youth can get misdirected easily, youth can get carried away . Looking at the way he has handled the pressures of expectations and kept his cool and conducted himself in the way he has I think has been truly, truly inspirational.
Q: Apart from being a role model, has he actively contributed to other batsmen coming in a big way into Indian cricket?
A: Yes, he has. What he has shown to so many young batsmen is that they are also capable of playing in all conditions, dominating the bowlers, attacking them. When you see one of your countrymen doing that, the youngsters would naturally feel they would like to emulate him. They can make out that there is a way in which this can be done. While they may not be as spectacular or as dominating or do it with the same technical finesse that he has, it is still Sachin who has shown the way to the youngsters.
Q: Were you not mildly critical of Sachin in his youthful days in Test cricket, specifically that he wanted to bat more like Vivian Richards than Sunil Gavaskar?
A: I don't remember saying that. What I meant was at that particular stage when he made his debut at the age of 16, and he was playing these lovely knocks of 20s and 30s and he was missing out on the big scores.
Sometimes he was getting into the 60s and then losing his wicket. As a batsman, I think he was wasting the opportunities of scoring the hundreds.
Q: If you were to pick one moment in his early career that shaped him, which one would you pick?
A: The recent ones would stand out in memory more than what happened in the distant past. Regarding an important moment that shaped his career, that would quite clearly be his first Test century with which he saved India -Old Trafford, Manchester 1990 -that was what gave him the belief that he could also score hundreds. Just a few months before then he had got out on 88 in New Zealand, where if he had got 12 more runs he would have been the youngest ever to have scored a Test century. The fact that he learnt from that experience and he helped India to save the match I think that was the day the boy became a man.
