Published: Nov 08, 2014, 04:43 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 08, 2014, 05:09 PM (IST)
Nov 8, 2014
Sachin Tendulkar has shed light on how he felt about Rahul Dravid’s declaration which left Tendulkar stranded on 194 in the Multan Test in 2004. Tendulkar wrote in his autobiography Playing it My Way he wanted to left alone after the declaration at Multan.
“I assured Rahul that the incident would have no bearing on my involvement on the field, but off the field, I would prefer to be left alone for a while to come to terms with what had happened,” wrote Tendulkar. Ultimately India won the Test by an innings and 52 runs.
The declaration, however, has an affect on Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid’s friendship. “Despite this incident, I am glad to say Rahul and I remained good friends and even on the field, our camaraderie remained intact until the end of our careers. We continued to have some good partnerships and neither our cricket nor our friendship was affected,” Tendulkar added.
Tendulkar revealed that during the tea interval he had asked Dravid and then India-coach John Wright about how he was to go about things. “At tea-time, I asked stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid, who was in charge because Sourav was out with a back injury, and coach John Wright what the plan was. I was informed, we were looking to give Pakistan an hour to bat, so would put them in with 15 overs left on the second day. It was perfectly sensible and I went about my business after tea with this plan in mind,” he said.
There was, however, a change of plans the Little Master advanced in his book. “But then, a little more than half an hour into the post-tea session, Ramesh Powar, who was substituting in the game came on the field and asked me to accelerate. I even joked with him, saying I was aware that we needed quick runs but with the field totally spread out, there was only so much we could do”, he wrote.
Shortly after that Powar ran out once more and told Tendulkar he should try and make the century in that over as the stand-in skipper Dravid had decided to declare. Tendulkar at this point at the non-striker’s end and as luck would have it he could not get to the other end.
“As it happened, I did not get to play a single ball in that over with Yuvraj on strike against Imran Farhat. Then just as Parthiv Patel, the next batsman started to come out, I saw Rahul gesturing us to go back to the pavilion,” he said.
“Disappointed and upset, I made my way back to the dressing room and could sense that the whole team was surprised at the decision. Some of my team-mates perhaps expected me to throw my gear about in the dressing room in disgust and create a scene. However, such things are not in me and I decided not to say a word to anyone about the incident,” he wrote.
Tendulkar thereafter made his way back to the dressing and kept his batting gear in one corner. He advanced in his book that inwardly he was very unhappy about the decision but he did not make his displeasure evident. Wright then came up to him and said sorry that this had been done.
Tendulkar proceeded to tell Wright that the decision could not see a change now. “I also said that what was done could not be reversed and it was best to leave it alone. Finally, I couldn’t help reminding him that the declaration was contrary to what had been discussed at tea and it was strange that I was not given even one ball to get to my double hundred after a message had been sent out asking me to get there as quickly as possible,” he said.
Even then-regular skipper Sourav Ganguly apologised to the star batsman. “Soon after my exchange with John, Sourav came to me and said he was very sorry at what had happened and that it wasn’t his decision to declare. This was a little surprising, as the skipper, was part of the tea-time discussion and was also present in the dressing room at the time of declaration,” Tendulkar wrote.
In the end both Tendulkar and Dravid spoke about the decision. “Rahul said that the call was taken with the interests of the team in mind. It was important to demonstrate that we meant business and were keen to win. I wasn’t convinced. First, I said to him that I was batting for the team as well. The 194 was meant to help the team and it was my individual contribution to the team’s cause,” he added.
Complete coverage of Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography Playing it My Way
