Originally Posted by kid-glove
Interesting anecdotes from Ganguly in Headlines today.
Apparently Sachin never slept the night before he scored that infamous test hundred against Aussies in Perth, 1992. He kept walking in the room with the lights on, or kept mimicking strokes with the bat. In anticipation of the most dangerous pitch (almost an extinct kind these days, according to Ganguly, the bounce and pace made it the most fastest and lethal pitches that you don't see any more) , esp. for a batman against intimidating Aussies. It seems Sachin slept sitting the next day (when he was to bat), with his face down on the lunch table, and Sourav had to wake/prep him up in time as he had to come at 5th or 6th down.
He also said in glowing terms that Sachin's captaincy, which preceded his, helped ensure all the incoming brittle youngsters/players like himself, Dravid, Kumble, Srinath et all to develop. He kept reiterating the point that Sachin is the most encouraging captain he could have vouched for, and the best advice have always come from him. And they exchanged tips and suggestions having watched each other for a long time, from the other end. He also spoke about a prank Sachin, Harbhajan and rest of the team played with him. When they lost a game against Pakistan, Sachin came up to him and said they will not play any more under Sourav as captain, as he had said something bad about the players. They kept holding it to a point Sourav got a bit peeved. I can imagine :lol: He says Sachin likes to hang out and dress well, drive imported cars. Live and enjoy is life. Love the game, and has unparalleled passion that made him the best batsman in the world.
P.S: He also rubbished the utterly pedantic saying Sachin plays for records. And that you can never plan for such stuff.