Sachin Tendulkar for me is God - his presence does wonders for the team's morale, it makes the team compete harder just so that they can outdo his achievement. It is never intentional but that is the nature of greatness - when you are around it, you tend to emulate it.
I wondered about how nervous and edgy I was before my interviews this past week but in this interview, The God himself talks about how he gets nervous before every game, before every walk to the crease. Suddenly, i don't feel that small or abnormal anymore... :)
Excerpts:
Q: Does this kind of adulation - not just a comment like this by an Australian player - but the adulation you get from this huge country - does it put enormous pressure on you?
A: It does not put pressure because I feel I have to live upto my own expectations. People are going to expect little more than what is required and there is no (no) end to it. If I score 150 today, tomorrow they would expect me to score 200, and 250 the third day. So if I can be little more realistic and live up to my own expectations, I think I will do a decent job. And that is what I always try and do.
Q: You do it wonderfully well. When you go out to bat particularly before the Indian crowds what goes through your mind? You have nearly a 100,000 people in a stadium like Eden Gardens in Calcutta. What goes through your mind at that time?
A: I do get tensed and worked up. That is only till I go to the crease and once I have reached the crease and I am pretty okay after that. I sort of like that feeling because that feeling always keeps you on your toes.
Q: Are you tensed up before any particular match?
A: I am tensed virtually before every game. I feel that pressure all the time. Once I have gone in the middle then I am pretty okay.
Such modesty, I say...
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