Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh recalled his memories of legendary Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar ahead of his 50th birthday on April 24 and stated him as a role model for the cricketers in the country. The master blaster is known for his humbleness despite having god-like status in the country.
Sachin Tendulkar was arguably one of the best batters of all time in International cricket, former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh shared his memories of a legendary Indian batter with whom he shared the dressing rooms in the Indian team and Mumbai Indians.
“Paaji is perhaps someone who is closest to being a perfect cricketer. Obviously, as a person, he is a role model and an example of how to lead your life with dignity, and humility, despite enjoying the god-like status and insane following in our country,” Harbhajan Singh said while speaking to PTI.
Harbhajan Singh recollected the memories of the 2003 World Cup, where the little master didn’t play the Indian bowlers in the nets as he took down unique throw downs in the practice session. Sachin Tendulkar had an exceptional outing in the World Cup scoring 673 runs at an average of 61.18 from 11 matches forming an epic partnership with Sourav Ganguly.
“To understand the genius of Sachin Tendulkar, one little story will be enough. During the entire 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Paaji didn’t bat in the nets for even one single day. The Indian bowling unit performed well but neither Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan nor Anil Kumble or myself bowled even once to him at nets during the tournament,”
Sachin Tendulkar has 100 centuries in international cricket being the only Cricketer in the world to achieve this unique feat in the world, including 51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs with over 600 international games. Tendulkar retired from all formats of the game on November 2013.
I Will Remember Till My Last Day – Harbhajan Singh On Sachin Tendulkar’s Epic Knocks
Sachin Tendulkar was always known for his epic knock against high-quality opponents. Harbhajan Singh picked his favourite knock of Indian legend selecting the two knocks in Sharjah and one knock against Pakistan in the 2003 ODI World Cup.
“Yes, he has 49 ODI hundreds but those two knocks in Sharjah and the 98 against Pakistan at Centurion are three knocks that I will remember till my last day. In 1998, 275 was like 350, and in a World Cup game in 2003, 270 plus was a par score. Chasing in the high-stakes game requires a different mindset.” Harbhajan Singh added
Harbhajan Singh went on to wish the Indian legend for a healthy life and want him to keep inspiring the people around him.