DUNGARPUR PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN MY CAREER: SACHIN
When Sachin Tendulkar broke into the Indian Test team at the tender age of 16 for the tour of Pakistan in 1989, many in Mumbai’s cricketing circle felt the promising youngster should have been part of the West Indies tour too that preceded the Pakistan series.
On Friday, Tendulkar revealed that it was Raj Singh Dungarpur, the then chairman of selectors who told him to not get swayed away by media’s overwhelming interest in him instead focus on his primary job of batting. “I was the leading run- getter in the domestic season and everyone had noticed that. While I was warming up before Mumbai’s semi- final game, Raj bhai told me I won’t be going to the West Indies. He told me to focus on Ranji at that moment and then appear for my SSC exams,” Tendulkar recalled.
The retired great credited the former BCCI president for playing an instrumental role in shaping his glittering career and thanked him for making him a playing member of the Cricket Club of India by bending the rules. “Raj bhai has played an immense role in making me the cricketer that I am and giving me the opportunities that I had in my life,” he said at the launch of the book Raj Singh Dungarpur A Tribute
Tendulkar also added that the veteran administrator also helped him financially. “I didn’t have deep pockets and Raj bhai was again instrumental in finding a sponsor for me. He said in his own style ‘ you should play cricket and leave the rest to me.’”