It was a rare night where Sachin Tendulkar was refering to his former India teammate Vinod Kambli repeatedly while recalling his school days. The Master Blaster also credited former India skipper Mohammed Azharuddin and then manager Ajit Wadekar for agreeing to open with him in New Zealand after regular opener Navjot Singh Sidhu had a stiff shoulder.
Sachin opened in Auckland for the first time against New Zealand and blazed away to 82 runs from just 49 balls in March 1994. The occasion was senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai’s book launch Democracy’s XI at Royal Opera House, attended by a galaxy of cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar.
Sachin and Kambli have been friends since childhood days but some misunderstandings between the two put their long-time friendship in jeopardy. However, the duo seemed to have buried the hatchet as Kambli smiled every time Sachin looked at him to confirm certain anecdotes about their teenage years while interacting with Harsha Bhogle. Later, a smiling selfie told the positive story.
There also was some bitterness reportedly between Sachin and Azhar during their playing days as Sachin’s rise and Azhar’s downfall came around the same time. The duo used to avoid questions on each other but on Monday, the stylish Hyderbadi batsman smiled in response to Sachin lavishing praise on him, indicating that may be improving between the two former India skippers.
Sachin later said, “Someone asked me how do I play straight drives, the first reason was Sunil Gavaskar and second was Sahitya Sahaswas (in Bandra). There were buildings on both sides so you had to hit straight and if you hit above the first floor, you were out and so, I had to hit straight and make sure not to touch the buildings.”
Former India skipper Gavaskar said everyone used to be in awe of Mumbai and players from the metros in the 1970s, when along came Kapil Dev. "Kapil made everyone believe that they can go on to play for India and captain India. There was an awe of players from Mumbai and other metros by other players. Kapil changed it all,” he said.
