I was ‘clueless’ on Test debut: Sachin
Sachin Tendulkar says he was "clueless" on his Test debut and almost cried thinking it was around for him.
When he walked out for the last time 24 years later, Tendulkar would do in order a batting great with a record 200 Test appearances to his name.
"I was clueless, I have to admit that. I played the first Test as though I was playing a school match," Sachin told Nasser Hussain on Skysports.
In his first Test in 1989, Tendulkar was against a Pakistan pace attack comprising Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Recalling the outing, he said, "Wasim and Waqar were bowling quick, plus they were delivering short balls and a variety of intimidating things they could do. I had never experienced anything like this, therefore the first outing wasn't a enjoyable one.
"Occasionally, I acquired beaten by their pace and bounce, so when I got out on 15, I felt embarrassed when I walked back again to the dressing room. I was like 'what have you done, why did you play like this' and then I went right to the bathroom, and I was almost in tears."
Now who owns innumerable records, Tendulkar, at that time with time, felt he had not been sufficient for international cricket.
"I felt I was completely out of place. I viewed myself and questioned myself and said: 'looks like this is gonna be your first and the last outing'. I felt that I'm not good enough to play at this level. I was upset and feeling low," Tendulkar said.
He said a conversation with Ravi Shastri, now the coach of the Indian team, helped him.
"I still remember the conversation I had with Ravi Shastri. Ravi said, 'you played as though it had been a school match. You are playing against the very best bowlers; you need to respect their ability and their skill'.
"I QUICKLY told Ravi that I acquired beaten by their pace. To which Ravi said: 'That happens to a number of, you don't worry. You just look to venture out and spend around 30 minutes in the middle and then you'll get adjusted with their pace, and everything will fall into place after that'."
Tendulkar was picked for the next Test and showed he previously it in him with a gritty half-century.
"When I was picked to play in the second Test at Faisalabad, the one thing on my mind was, I'm not gonna look at the scoreboard. I'll only consider the clock rather than worry about scoring runs.
"I batted for half an hour, and I felt really comfortable and I scored 59 runs for the reason that match and from then on things started changing," Tendulkar said.
