Sachin and Anjali Tendulkar were preparing to celebrate their daughter Sarah’s birthday last October when she bowled a googly to her dad. Today, he admits that it is one of his greatest lessons off-the-pitch. “We were preparing to celebrate her (Sarah’s) birthday when she said that she doesn’t want a party at home. We were a little surprised. She wanted to have a party at (the slums of) Govandi and wanted to share the goodies with the (slum) children there. We felt really proud when my daughter said this,” says Sachin even as Anjali nods her head in approval. As usual Anjali had decided that it was only Sachin who will do the talking.
“My daughter made me think. I thought that everybody donates money but it is a greater gift to donate your time. That is why I decided to auction a half-day’s coaching camp with the kids (on eBay on behalf of an NGO). It was my daughter Sarah who inspired me to do charity,” candidly admits Sachin explaining how he decided to donate his time than the ‘much easier option of donating just money’.
When asked about son Arjun, both Sachin and Anjali’s faces light up. After a quick glance towards his wife, the Master Blaster admits that though he often talks about cricket with his son, his recent knock of 200 ODI runs has remained out of their discussions.
“We (Sachin and Arjun) keep talking about cricket all the time. But I never spoke about my knock (of 200 runs against South Africa) with him. But I definitely spoke about it with Anjali. My mom also watched the entire match. In fact, I was very happy about the way my near and dear ones reacted when I came back home. They were elated. They (his family) have made huge sacrifices for me and I always thank them for that. That is why it (the success) was worth sharing with them,” Sachin adds.
When we asked his comment on the Sachin Tendulkar museum, he says, “It is news to me (that a special museum is being set up with his belongings and his used cricket gears). I haven’t received any official intimation about it. But it sounds good to me.”
Recently after the Indian hockey team won their first match of the ongoing World Cup against Pakistan, a particular state government announced rewards only for the goal scorers. Sachin feels that though a couple of players only bring glory to the country on a given day, it is the team effort that wins the day.
“Everyone should be credited if the team wins. It is true that on a given day, two or three players will shine than the rest and I am not taking away any credit from them. But without the team playing as a unit, they can’t shine. So, I feel when a team wins the credit it should go to the entire team including the reserve players and the support staff. They have worked in every possible way to ensure that the team wins,” he ends.
