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A walk down the memory lane: Tendulkar says Lillee asked him to give up fast bowling for batting
During his visit to MRF Pace Foundation at Chennai on last Friday, Tendulkar recollected the time in 1987, when he also aspired to be a fast bowler.
Published: Aug 26, 2015, 01:51 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 26, 2015, 01:53 PM (IST)
Fans do remember that Sachin Tendulkar has had a long association with MRF. For a major part of his career, he had the logo on his bat but the association goes further back. During his visit to MRF Pace Foundation at Chennai on last Friday, Tendulkar recollected the time in 1987, when he also aspired to be a fast bowler.
Recalling that moment, Tendulkar said that it was Australian pace ace Dennis Lillee, who asked him to concentrate more on batting. Tendulkar said, “At that time I was really well in school and scoring runs. Vasu Paranjipe who regularly visited Chennai at that time came up with this idea as to why not we send Sachin to Chennai for trials.”
“My brother always used to tell me that I should become an all-rounder. I love bowling quick. While packing my bags my brother told me to carry my batting gear for safety. I came with my batting gear also. Trials were announced and numbers were given. I do not remember the number I bowled on a couple of occasions and I was just standing there.”
“Vasu Paranjpe, who was standing by asked me to bat against the same bowlers. I said great idea. So, I put the pads on and started batting and Dennis (Lillee) was watching me bat. Then, Dennis walked towards me and said — my friend this is a better option why don’t you stick to batting.”
Tendulkar almost told Lillee that he was a batsman who wanted to be a fast bowler too but it was his brother also suggested him to carry his batting gears. In years to follow, Tendulkar not only loved to dominate the fast bowlers but also loved the art. Many a times in his career he was seen dishing out medium-pace at opponents. He also claims that once in the nets, he clocked more than 140 kph.
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In the video, Tendulkar lauded the contribution of MRF Pace Foundation, which has given world cricket some of the best fast bowlers.