Kolkata: Despite the hype around him, Sachin Tendulkar appeared calm as the senior most Indian batsman walked out for his first practice session ahead of his 199th Test at the Eden Gardens, here on Monday.
There was nothing special about the way he went about his routine nets session as he batted for exactly 52 minutes.
Showered with confetti and flower petals as he checked into the Eden Gardens at 10:30 in the morning, Tendulkar went to the field and had a long discussion with coach Duncan Fletcher.
All padded up, Tendulkar waited patiently for his turn as Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan batted in the two nets meant for pacers and spinners.
Tendulkar’s turn finally came as he batted for about 10 minutes in the pace bowling net with India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav forming the attack, apart from the local bowlers.
In the adjoining net, Tendulkar batted a little longer against the spinners that comprised Pragyan Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin and Vijay.
He had a glimpse of the wicket while going to another net for throwdowns.
Tendulkar ended the session with catching practice from the far end.
Another highlight of the two and a half hour practice was coach Fletcher and Dhawan’s session that lasted for more than half an hour.
It seemed Fletcher was speaking about the nuances of batting as Dhawan was all ears.
Earlier, a five-feet four-inch statue of Tendulkar greeted the 40-year-old batsman while the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) rolled out a grand welcome when he disembarked from the team bus.
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden’s quote on Tendulkar – ‘I’ve seen God. He comes out to bat for India at No 4.’ – was displayed prominently right above the India dressing room door while the wax statue was installed next to the door.
The statue may not have the finesse of a Madame Tussauds but Tendulkar came and stood near it after his practice session.
Tendulkar ‘unhappy’
Tendulkar was reportedly unhappy with the way the CAB went about its celebrations as the batsman reached the ground.
There were contradictory statements from two joint secretaries of CAB with Sujan Mukherjee admitting that the maestro indeed was not amused with all the arrangements while the other joint secretary Subir Ganguly said that everything was under control.
As Tendulkar was the first to step down from the team bus this morning, confetti burst near the gate, while 80 schoolchildren wearing t-shirts with the Mumbai batsman’s photo and 199 written on the back, lined up to the dressing room to greet the cricketer.
According to sources, Tendulkar reportedly said he’s not bigger than the sport and it’s not him only there are 14 other players who are part of the Indian squad.
“I too heard that Tendulkar was upset with the confetti burst and other things. He also cancelled his visit to a photo exhibition at the Bhowanipore Tent,” senior joint secretary Mukherjee told PTI.
It is learnt that the CAB officials later did some damage control as Tendulkar came and gave a photo-op near the wax statue and praised the wax craftsman Susanta Ray of Asansol.
“Sachin and everyone else in the team was happy with the grand arrangements,” the other joint secretary Ganguly, said.
Meanwhile, joining in the praise for Tendulkar, West Indies manager Richie Richardson described the retiring great as “second to none”.
“The appetite he has shown for scoring runs is really remarkable,” Richardson said.
“His desire and dedication to play the game… It’s difficult to put it in words.” (PTI)
