NEW DELHI Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar shared an amusing anecdote about former teammate Virender Sehwag during an event at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Tendulkar revealed that to bring out the best in Sehwag, he often had to say the opposite of what he actually wanted.
Tendulkar graced the Rashtrapati Bhavan Vimarsh Shrinkhala event on Thursday, where esteemed personalities share their life experiences. He was a personal guest of President Droupadi Murmu and presented her with a signed Indian Test jersey. Accompanied by his wife Anjali and daughter Sara, Tendulkar spoke about the invaluable lessons sport teaches.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
“Sport treats everyone equally. You may be in good form while someone else isn’t, and vice versa. As a team, you must stick together through good and bad times, trusting your partner,” he remarked.
Tendulkar captivated the audience with anecdotes from his playing days, illustrating how understanding teammates was crucial.
With Sehwag, he revealed an amusing strategy: “Viru would always do the opposite of what I wanted. So, if I wanted him to defend, I’d tell him to go smash the bowlers. He’d then say, ‘No paaji, I should defend for four overs first,’ and I would smile, knowing I got what I wanted.”
He also recalled a conversation with Yuvraj Singh before the 2011 World Cup, when the left-hander seemed low on energy.
“Yuvi told me he wasn’t timing the ball well. I advised him to forget about batting and focus on fielding, setting small goals. I told him, ‘Yuvi, you will matter when it matters.’ That brought the spark back in his strides.”
Tendulkar recounted a pivotal Test match against New Zealand when Chris Cairns was reversing the ball dangerously.
“In some conditions, it’s tough to spot the shiny side. Cairns was beating us, and the match was critical. I told Rahul Dravid, ‘I’ll hold the bat in one hand — you gauge the swing.’ When Cairns bowled cross-seam, I adjusted accordingly. That trust helped us survive.”
While Tendulkar has visited Rashtrapati Bhavan multiple times to receive honours, this was his first as a guest of the President.
“We spoke about the Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, which I watched with my friend Dilip Tirkey. We also discussed Odisha’s cuisine. Walking through the corridors of Rashtrapati Bhavan and seeing portraits of our freedom fighters gave me goosebumps,” he said.
Widely regarded as one of cricket’s greatest players, Tendulkar holds the record for the most runs in both Tests (15,921) and ODIs (18,426), along with 100 international centuries. Honoured with the Bharat Ratna in 2014, his legacy continues to inspire generations.
