Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar is glad that his technical inputs to Virat Kohli helped the current Indian captain after he endured a disastrous England tour in 2014.
However, Tendulkar wasn’t quite keen on sharing the specifics of their sessions together.
“Firstly, I am really happy that it worked well for Virat. And it stays between us. I have never spoken about it and I will continue to keep it that way. I will leave that to his discretion if at all he wishes to,” The Master Blaster quoted as saying by India Today.
“But from my side, I would just say that it’s been a joy to watch him,” he added.
Tendulkar’s comments come after Kohli recently opened up on how the batting maestro helped him overcome the issues that troubled him during the 2014 England tour. Notably, Kohli had managed only 134 runs from 10 Test innings in that tour as critics raised questions over his technique against the moving ball in English conditions.
“I came back from England and spoke to Sachin paaji and had a few sessions with him in Mumbai. I told him that I am working on my hip position,” Kohli had told teammate Mayank Agarwal for bcci.tv last month.
“He made me realise the importance of big stride, a forward press against fast bowlers. The moment I started doing that with my hip alignment, things started falling in place nicely and then the Australia tour happened."
Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar also highlighted the importance of being open to learning at all stages of lives and it is something he has grasped from his father Ramesh Tendulkar and coach Ramakant Achrekar.
“Generally, in life and sport, my father and my coach Achrekar Sir always told me that if you want to progress in life, you have to be a student. And I have really followed their advice,” Tendulkar said.
“I am always open to learning things. And whatever I feel I can share with someone, I share it. I truly believe that learning never stops. We have to be open-minded to accept things and then decide whether it works for me or doesn’t.
“Even when I was the junior-most member of the team, I would literally walk up to the senior-most member of the team and tell the player on the field ‘this is what I feel you should be doing’. Then it was up to him, he has the experience and ability to do various things. But I took that ownership because I was part of a team and it became my responsibility to at least share my opinion.
“And similarly, I also told when I was the senior-most member in the team, I shared the same thing with the junior-most members in the side that ‘you have the freedom to walk up to me and tell me whatever you want before I commit that mistake, so I continue batting’. That openness can propel you.”
