Sachin Tendulkar is one of the best batsmen the country has ever produced. In his illustrious career of 24 years, Tendulkar represented India in 200 Tests and 463 ODIs and ended his career as the highest run-getter in both ODIs and Tests, a record he stills holds to date.

The Mumbai-based cricketer was also the first batsman to score a double century in ODI cricket. While talking to The Indian Express, the ‘Master Blaster’ revealed how he suffered from sleeplessness for years whenever he used to get ready for a match.

“If you care about something, there will certainly be some restlessness. I would say, for the first 12 years of my career, I couldn’t sleep properly on the eve of the game. I would constantly think about how I will face the bowlers. I would keep thinking and would fight my sleep,” Tendulkar said.

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“Later, I could deal with it. I started accepting; this is how my body and mind is getting geared up for the game. It is ok, I don’t need to fight this feeling, I embraced that. The reason I am like this is because I am getting ready for the game. And it’s okay as it is only part of my preparation,” he added.

When the legendary right-hand batsman was asked if this problem was persistent throughout his career, he replied, “Yes, it happened all through my career and post dismissals, I used to discuss it with my brother. And that even happened till my last Test.”

The 48-year-old who has 100 centuries to his name in the international arena then concluded the talk by remembering how he and his brother had discussed this problem even in Tendulkar’s last Test match against West Indies at Wankhede Stadium.

“A few habits continued all the way. After I was dismissed in my last Test, we had a discussion in the evening. After that I was thinking, I don’t know why we discussed it because if we bowl well, we might not be batting a second time,” he signed off.

(With The Indian Express Inputs)