SURESH RAINA – “SACHIN CARRIED THE WEIGHT OF THE INDIAN TEAM ON
HIS SHOULDERS”
Suresh Raina, Javagal Srinath, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar present at the Salaam Sachin India Today Conclave
SURESH RAINA- “SACHIN CARRIED THE WEIGHT OF THE INDIAN TEAM ON HIS SHOULDERS”
SURESH RAINA- “THE FITNESS TRAINER USED TO GET TIRED BUT NEVER SACHIN“
RAINA- “WE WANT TO SEE SACHIN DURING THE 2015 WORLD CUP DRESSING ROOM”
JAVAGAL SRINATH- ‘ALWAYS BEEN A BIG FAN OF SACHIN’S TALENT”
WAQAR YOUNIS- “SACHIN IS RIGHT AT THE TOP”
WAQAR YOUNIS- “SACHIN’S CHENNAI 136 WAS BETTER THAN 2003 CENTURION 98”
SHOAIB AKHTAR- “IT WAS A BIT OF A FEAR WHILE BOWLING TO HIM”
Current and former cricketers showered encomiums on legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar who will be retiring after playing his 200th Test in his home city of Mumbai this week.
Speaking at LAVA Salaam Sachin India Today Conclave’s session- SACHIN: AN INSPIRATION- being held in Mumbai, Indian cricketer Suresh Raina paid rich tribute to Sachin. The session was moderated by TV TODAY Deputy Editor Sweta Singh.
He said “Sachin is one of the most dedicated players I have ever seen. He motivates everyone. Sachin has a great respect for the team. Before the match he used to listen to Kishore Kumar’s song Lehro Ki Tarah.”
Raina further added that winning the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai was a really emotional moment for him
“He was very keen of winning the world cup. In 2011 after winning the World Cup he got emotional. He really wanted to win the World Cup.“
Raina acknowledged the legendary batsman’s yeoman service to the game and shouldering the burden of the Indian team for 24-long years.
“He used to respect everyone and used to carry burden on his shoulder”, Raina said.
Tendulkar’s contemporary and former Indian speedster Javagal Srinath complimented Sachin for his selfless service to the game.
“It was tough to argue with sachin and it was always a pleasure to bat with Sachin. At the age 19 the century which Sachin made will always stand tall.”
“When he does not bat well, he does not react and walks back without making any fuss. When he first became captain he always wanted to win. His talent was so high on him”, Srinath added
Interestingly Raina said that playing against Pakistan invariably brought the best out of Sachin Tendulkar .
“Sachin always gave his 200 percent while playing against Pakistan. During the 2011 World Cup semi-final both country’s Prime Ministers were present at the ground and there was tremendous pressure on us to win. Both camps were aggressive but Sachin asked us to relax. He advised us to put pressure on Pakistan on the field and they will crumble”
Talking about Pakistan the following session saw two Pakistan greats, Waqar Younis, former Pakistan captain and Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar sharing their throughts on Bowling to Sachin.
The session moderated by TV TODAY SPORTS EDITOR VIKRANT GUPTA threw up some interesting anecdotes on Sachin’s famous rivalry against Pakistan.
Waqar said Sachin’s numbers tell their own story about his greatness “Sachin is right at the top, his stats tell us what he has done.””
Shoaib Akhtar considered it as an honour to play against Sachin Tendulkar and recalled some of the historic duels during his career. Notwithstanding his perpetual fear while bowling to the Master Blaster Akhtar recalled the 1999 Test at Eden Gardens when he had castled Sachin.
“I had no idea when I came to India that how big is Sachin is in India. When I got him out in first Test. I was stunned to see the people’s reaction.”
Waqar recalled Sachin’s 136 in Chennai which he rated it better than the 2003 WC Centurion 98.
“Chennai innings was better than his World Cup one because track was turning and Saqlain and Afridi were turning the ball.”
