Written By: Sameer Jha | Updated : March 8, 2014 4:46 PM IST
Sachin Tendulkar's retirement will come as a shock to the entire nation. When Sachin Tendulkar made his debut in 1989, I wasn't even born. Today, around 24 years later he has announced his retirement. As much as I am sad about the fact that I won't be able to see the Little Master wield his magic with the bat after his 200th test, I am proud to have been a part of a generation which witnessed the greatest cricketer to have ever played. A man whose records I don't need to reiterate here because everyone from a child to an old man in India knows it by heart.
How Sachin stayed fit
Being the best cricketer in the world, it comes as no surprise that Sachin's favourite way of staying fit is to repeatedly do what he is best at, i.e. play cricket. Batting for hours in the nets as a child, the Little Master's will to be the best batsman he can be in different conditions across the world has helped him stay fit. It would've also gone a long way in helping him with his craft.
'His fitness schedule is very specific to his needs. A lot of things are out of the box. His understanding of the biodynamics of exercise and the kinematics involved is astounding. His spatial awareness while doing a particular regime has in fact made youngsters look at him in awe. Apart from his sessions in the gym, his speed, agility and core strength is amazing. His discipline is impeccable, like a Navy Seal when it comes to fitness and eating patterns during a tour or off it.', Ramji Srinivasan, a fitness trainer closely associated with the Indian team, told TOI. Besides batting (and making the bowler feel helpless), Sachin also does breathing exercises and practises meditation to keep his inner peace. (Read: IPL's fittest seniors Tendulkar, Dravid, Ponting, Gilchrist, Hogg)
Sachin's eating habits
While people may think that Sachin's longevity is a result of him abstaining from most foods, this notion is not at all true. Sachin loves eating and in an interview with Mid Day, he said, 'Till the age of 13 or so, it was only pure Maharashtrian food and nothing else for me. Then I began travelling. First, I went to England (as part of a cricket team). We spent a month there and that was the first time I heard that even cold chicken was meant to be eaten. I wasn't aware of that, but as time went by, I learnt to deal with these things. With travelling and more exposure, I was also open to trying out various things. I appreciate good food and good taste, and sometimes, it is good to eat whatever you like and not think about diet'
Having travelled the world, Sachin is quite knowledgeable about food across the world and loves Pakistani cuisine. 'Whenever I have been to Pakistan, the food has been delicious. The first tour to Pakistan was a memorable one. Sometimes I would only have keema paratha and a glass of lassi for breakfast and it would be so heavy and tasty that there was no need for lunch or a snack in the afternoon.' he told Mid Day.
That said, Sachin does know the limits of his body and his focus has always been to play his best cricket. Whenever required he has adapted his diet, especially as he has aged over the years in order to keep his body in best condition. As sports nutrition became more advanced he stuck to a diet which included 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 30% protein every day. While he didn't follow a strict regime, one can see the moderation in diet which allowed him to play at the highest level. (Read: Rahul Dravid: Fitness secrets of the Wall)
Battling injuries: Tennis elbow (Getting and recovering)
Being a competitive player at the international level doesn't come easy. In the heat of the competition, a cricketer may sometimes push his body more than he can. Over the course of his career, Sachin has missed many tours and matches due to injuries in his wrist, toe, knees, etc. But, the one injury that stood out was his tennis elbow which gave him sleepless nights, and people feared it would lead to the end of the Tendulkar era.
Tendulkar's batting style was such that he used his top hand a lot, and his bat was comparatively heavier than that of his contemporaries. All of this led to him having a tennis elbow, which kept him out of action for a long time. 'It is actually a small tear in the origin of muscles at the elbow that runs through to the wrist. In effect, wrist movement causes pain at the elbow. It can happen acutely and immediately, need not have to be over a period of time.' Dr Anant Joshi, who was a consultant with the BCCI at that time, told The Hindu.
However, he underwent a surgery in London and came back strongly. A few years later, in February 2010, Sachin made his critics eat their own words, by becoming the first cricketer to score a double hundred in ODIs. (Read:
Mental Strength (How he didn't let the fame affect him)
Sachin has arguably the biggest fan following in India. So much is the madness that people have called him God and in some places, posters and replicas of Sachin are worshipped with devotion. When Sachin's wicket falls, a lot of people switch off the TV or change the channel. Such intense pressure and expectations can be tough to deal with. However, he has done it with lan throughout his life, never letting the hype get to his head. His solid upbringing played a vital role in his development and he didn't let his head get turned with the glitz and glamour that haunts sportsmen and saw contemporaries like Vinod Kambli fall by the wayside. (Read: Cricketers who battled mental health issues)
Sachin's mantra to handle the expectations is to give priority to his own expectations over that of others. Being competitive, he never likes to get out whether he has scored four runs or one fifty four of them. In an interview with TIME he said, 'I don't think I woke up one morning and felt that there was this responsibility on me and that I needed to live up to that expectation. Something which still gives me sleepless nights is, 'How will I go out and keep that standard, and live up to my own expectations,'.
Personally, I can't wait to see Sachin play his last series and hope to see him score a few more centuries. The Australian batsman Matthew Hayden had once said, 'I have seen God, he bats at no. 4 for India'. Whether he scores another century or not, one thing's for sure, we will never see his kind again.
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