Over the wicket: Tendulkar's little-known link with Gavaskar

Dubai: Sachin Tendulkar crossed the 17,000-run mark in one-day cricket on Thursday and is scaling heights where it could be tough to catch up with him.

When the little legend went past that mark against Australia, I was reminded of two conversations that I had with former Australian skipper Steve Waugh. Three years ago, Waugh, on a visit to Dubai, said Tendulkar may become the first batsman to score 100 centuries together in both forms of the game. As of now, he stands at 87 (42 in Tests and 45 in ODIs).

And last month, Waugh, during another visit here, said it would be difficult for anyone to beat Tendulkar's record in one-dayers. The maestro is 3,799 runs ahead of second-placed Sanath Jayasuriya and 4,882 runs ahead of Ricky Ponting. And given his form, he could soon cross 20,000 runs as well.

Tendulkar keeps his targets to himself. The only time he talked about his goal was when, as a schoolboy, he was involved in that record partnership with Vinod Kambli. "My aim is to play for India and perform like Sunil Gavaskar for my country," he'd said during the course of my first interview.

When Gavaskar reached the 10,000-mark, he said that his record could be broken. Knowing Tendulkar's passion for runs, he must have set his eyes on 20,000.

Hunger for runs

Only those who have interacted closely with Tendulkar can feel his hunger for runs. Not someone to speak about his passion or even praise himself, Tendulkar does not even respond to critics. Instead, his vengeance is seen in his scores.

Way back in 1987, despite scoring 1,500 runs in the Mumbai schools league, 14-year-old Tendulkar was ignored by the Mumbai Cricket Association for the best junior cricketer award. That's when he got a letter from Gavaskar saying that bigger awards await him.

At the end of the letter Gavaskar wrote: "If you look at the list of junior cricketers who have won this award, you will find one name missing… and that person has not done badly in international cricket."

Gavaskar was referring to himself, and Tendulkar has that letter with him even today.