About half an hour after a long telephonic interview on batting, the mobile rang again. It was Sachin Tendulkar. He had been thinking about a question he had already answered and wanted to add more.
Even if he hadn’t called, it would have been fine. The prized interview was anyway glittering with light he had thrown on the nuance of batting. But that’s Tendulkar — no half-measures when it comes to sharing, or availing, cricketing wisdom.
This last Saturday, the night before the World T20 final, it was fine if Tendulkar hadn’t called Sanju Samson, the batsman who had reached out to him several months back and had been in constant touch since. Almost nursed back to form by Indian cricket’s habitual healer, Sanju had touched peak form in the two games leading to the final. Now came the biggest night, with sky-high expectations and the law of averages waiting.
Tendulkar had been busy, festivities at home. But like his late father Ramesh Tendulkar, the popular Marathi literature professor known for lovingly hand-holding his struggling students, he found time for the player on the mend.
Had Sanju not spoken about Tendulkar at the awards ceremony, the world would never have known the role played by Indian cricket’s habitual giver — a rare great who prefers working anonymously. There are those who put out videos and pictures of old training sessions when their wards do well. Then there is Tendulkar, fiercely anonymous, like a doctor under oath maintaining confidentiality.
In several interviews, he has been asked about the time he spent with Virat Kohli during his slump, or the word he had with Shubman Gill before his career-defining Test tour to England. Without exception, he has skirted the issue, insisting these questions be asked of the beneficiaries themselves.