Published: Nov 03, 2013, 12:05 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 03, 2013, 12:05 AM (IST)
Manoj Prabhakar feels that Sachin Tendulkar (above) will be a popular figure even after his retirement © Getty Images
Nov 2, 2013
Former India all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar said that Sachin Tendulkar , who is set to quit international cricket following the series against the West Indies, wouldn’t make an ideal coach.
Prabhakar said, “A genius can never be a good coach.”
The former all-rounder said watching Tendulkar bat against the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis convinced him that the Little Master was blessed with special talent.
Speaking of the incident to DNA, he said, I can’t forget that match in Sharjah where Sachin was hit on the head by a Wasim Akram delivery. But the very next ball, he smashed Akram out of the park. The Pakistani great had barely completed his follow through. That is classic Sachin. He has always countered his opponents with his bat. No talking for him.”
“I can’t forget that match in Sharjah where Sachin was hit on the head by a Wasim Akram delivery. But the very next ball, he smashed Akram out of the park. The Pakistani great had barely completed his follow through. That is classic Sachin. He has always countered his opponents with his bat. No talking for him,” he added.
Manoj Prabhakar was a part of the team when Tendulkar scored his first Test ton against England at Old Trafford. Prabhakar walked into bat with the score on 183 for six.
“There were no specific instructions from the dressing room,” Prabhakar recalls. The seniors were cursing themselves for not having spent more time at the crease. “I had only one thing on my mind: partnership. But I knew I had to tell the 17-year-old boy to curb his shots as the ball was swinging all over the place,” Prabhakar recalls the incident.
“The moment England decided to take the second new ball, I went up to Sachin and cautioned him. I advised to be a little careful against Angus Fraser. But when he dispatched the very second ball to the boundary, I just decided to let him play his own game and enjoy his batting,” he added.
Talking about the first time he watched Tendulkar play, Prabhakar said, “It was during a Ranji Trophy game between Delhi and Bombay that I first saw him. Maninder Singh, the best left-arm spinner of the time, was unplayable then. But here was a kid who decided to step out of the crease and loft Maninder for a six. We were shocked. Hitting Maninder out of ground during his heyday was no child’s play. Only someone blessed with the technique of, say, a Sunil Gavaskar could do that.”
