Dubai: Sachin Tendulkar is on a mission to globalise and popularise cricket around the world, along with Shane Warne, through their new All Star Twenty20 series.
Twenty-six legendary cricketers are set to play in three inaugural matches in the United States next month and later in other parts of the world.
Through an extensive interview with Gulf News, Tendulkar narrated his personal experiences and little-known facts about some of the legendary players who have been picked to play in the series. He also revealed he would like the All Star Twenty20 series to eventually be played in UAE.
You are creating an opportunity to watch former cricket stars in action again. Personally, who else would you have liked to have seen from the past greats of the game?
Viv Richards has always been my hero, I would have definitely liked to watch him. I also heard so much about Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Don Bradman — the list is endless. So many great players played this game at the highest level and ruled the world. I would have loved to watch those greats in action.
Did any of the knocks you saw as a kid from any of the greats inspire you in any way?
As a kid I watched recordings, I never watched a live game as such. Did not even watch matches on television because my coach would always tell me that you need to play and you do not need to watch others. In my spare time I used to watch their cassettes. In those days there were only video cassettes and no DVDs. My coach [Ramakant Achrekar] always said you must practice yourself first and then watch others and whatever good things they are doing you can go and practice them next, but do not miss your practice to watch them. So I spend lot of time playing matches and practising myself.
Do you think your series for past cricketers can set a new trend of retired cricketers continuing to maintain their fitness to keep playing?
Last year, when I played at Lord’s on July 5 in the bicentenary game, I realised that even after retirement the passion for cricket was alive in all the retired cricketers. So I said why not put that to use somewhere for a constructive outcome? I felt that we could go around the world playing cricket and generating interest in those countries where people like cricket and follow the game only on the internet. Those fans that don’t have access to watching cricket live in stadiums. When you are sitting in an atmosphere with 50,000 people cheering and making noise, it is a different thrill altogether. You will then engage yourself much better and connect yourself much better. So we decided to make an effort to do that and make more people involved in cricket and we believe that it will only produce a positive outcome.
But what prompted you to choose America to spread cricket?
So many of my friends have gone to America and settled there and studied there. When they went they had no idea about baseball or basketball. Their American friends took them to matches and got them to understand about baseball. So it is time for them to reciprocate and it is now time for the Indian guys to make Americans watch cricket.
Cricketers of the past used to be honoured by Cricketers Benefit Fund Series in Sharjah. What are your memories of those?
Sharjah always brings back amazing memories, especially some great encounters. I thoroughly enjoyed the support here. I would like to reiterate that our all stars are going to travel around the world and will come to Sharjah and also play in Dubai. The whole idea about this series is to go and globalise and popularise cricket and get more people engaged. Shane Warne and I even had an official meeting with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and explained to them what we are trying to achieve by this series. The ICC liked the idea and they are on board with us and are backing this event. We have 28 leading players as ambassadors of cricket and the ICC readily agreed. It will be nice to play this series here, in the headquarters of the ICC.
Do you often recall or watch your ‘Sandstorm’ innings against Australia at Sharjah?
I watch sometimes though I don’t watch regularly. I am not one of those who will be watching myself again and again, but many of my friends when they talk about my knocks it is often either that ‘Sandstorm’ knock or my knock against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup in Centurion.
You have launched the All Star T20 series with fierce competitor Shane Warne. How was Warne as an opponent and what is it that youngsters can learn from him?
It was fantastic to play against Warne. A true champion, someone who never gave up. Even if he had a bad day and if he had to come and bowl the last over, the batters will still be focusing as hard as they could and that is the sign of a champion. When you are playing against a champion, you cannnot relax.
Another star who is in the All Star series is Brian Lara. What is the quality that made him stand out during his career?
I would say he is one of the greatest players of all time. You take any era and Brian’s name will be right up there alongside anyone else. He is a classy player and destructive, someone who understands the game very well and someone who dominated cricket for a long time. Look at him in action and you will know you are watching something special. The first time I met Brian was in 1990 at Toronto and our friendship clicked from then on. We have a high regard for each other and we have been good friends ever since.
You picked two Asian giants in Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara fresh from their retirements to be part of the series. What according to you was special about them?
Whenever I played against Mahela, I thought he was a very good strategist and a very good reader of the game. I rated him highly as a captain. Regarding Sangakkara, he is extremely talented and from where he started and where he ended his career was simply remarkable. To be able to perform consistently at all levels has been truly remarkable and he is a special player. For me he is the best player Sri Lanka has produced.
You have played Wasim Akram at his peak. How much of a challenge was it to face his swinging deliveries?
Akram is as good as anyone to have played this sport. We are talking about champions, but as regards who is the best player in the world, it always boils down to opinions. But overall I don’t think there is any person in the world who can say that these players [playing in the All Star series] are not among the best players of all time. They are all one of the best and to have them all on board is amazing. I enjoyed my encounters with Wasim for the skill and the talent that he presented to us, which was special. Very few people could get the ball to do the things what Wasim did.
