Published: Nov 07, 2013, 09:32 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 07, 2013, 09:32 AM (IST)
The author said many players have talent but it is hard work that ultimately makes the difference. Sachin Tendulkar has dominated during his career because of the hard work the latter has put in © Getty Images
By Azhar Mahmood
In 1989, a 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar had toured Pakistan. The first time I watched him bat was during a game at Gujranwala, which was reduced to a 16-overs a side affair. On that tour, he had played Mushtaq Ahmed and Abdul Qadir really well. In fact, during a game at Peshawar, he had smashed Qadir for a few sixes. Those are my first memories of Sachin.
In 1996, I made my international debut against India at Toronto, Canada. The day before my first game, I was told that I was playing and I couldn’t sleep at night. It was a combination of nerves and excitement. When I played, it was an honour to bowl to Tendulkar as he was a big star by then and had made a name for himself. What made my maiden international assignment even more special was that Sachin was my first wicket at the highest level.
Knowing that Sachin is a great player, we would work out plans in the dressing room to get him out. We had to set different fields for him and we did manage to get him out quite a few times. One strategy was that we would place a short point for him as he would play very well through that area. Wasim Akram used to sit with us in the dressing room and chalk out plans before a game if we were up against him. Yes, India had other quality players as Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly had arrived by then. But, we felt that if we could get Sachin early, we were in with a good chance.
During the 1990s, Sachin essayed quite a few good knocks against us. The one that I will always remember is that innings of 136 in a Test match at Chennai in 1999. India were in trouble during the run-chase, but he fought back with that magnificent century and threatened to take the game away from us. But, on the brink of victory, with India needing only 17 runs with four wickets in hand, Saqlain Mushtaq dismissed him. After he got out, we got the tailenders and won the game — by just 12 runs.
Years later, I faced Sachin during the Indian Premier League (IPL). Even though he was nearing the end of his career and people were talking about his retirement, you still had to be on top of your game to get the better of him, which I did. Sachin still went on to do well in the IPL [Indian Premier League]. As they say, form is temporary and class is permanent.
When my family and I were in India for the IPL, my daughter wanted to meet him. So, all of us were invited by him to his room and we spent time with him. For a person who has achieved so much, he is still so kind and is a very nice guy. You do respect him as a cricketer, but even off the field, you have tremendous respect for him as a person.
Sachin is an idol for any young cricketer. He is a true Master and has spent nearly 24 years at the highest level — on top for most of the time. No one else in the game has got 100 international tons. Many people have talent, but it is hard work that ultimately makes the difference. That is why Sachin has dominated during his career. It has been an absolute honour to play against him.
— As told to Nishad Pai Vaidya
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(Azhar Mahmood is a former Pakistan all-rounder who played 21 Tests and 143 One-Day Internationals (ODIs). On Test debut in South Africa, he smashed a ton and a fifty. His international career spanned from 1996 to 2007. Mahmood has also been a regular in country cricket having turned out for Kent and Surrey, excelling in T20 cricket in particular. His exploits in the shortest format have won him fame and he has played for Kings XI Punjab, Auckland, Barbados Tridents, Dhaka Gladiators, Barisal Burners, Wayamba United, Sydney Thunder and Cape Cobras)
