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Return to his guru’s recluse may have turned it around for Sachin Tendulkar. In the press conference following his 36th Test century, the little master mentioned in passing that before landing in Bangladesh he visited his childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar.

So what talk transpired between the two, reporters asked the coach. Apparently, Achrekar tried to cleanse the cobwebs that were impeding Tendulkar’s game. He said, I told him to silence his mind and play freely. Conservatism is against the grain of Sachin’s nature. He should enjoy his game. If he does not hold himself back he will get the big ones.

Achrekar admitted that he didn’t watch the clips of Tendulkar’s recent dismissals (he hasn’t been in the best of health of late). He isn’t aware of the way Tendulkar got out in India’s fatal game against Sri Lanka in the World Cup.

However, he feels that his pupil should be more decisive in footwork. When the two met, Achrekar cautioned Tendulkar against half-measures in his batting. Tendulkar, in recent times, has been prone to getting out leg-before and bowled ungainly for someone who started off with a watertight technique.

Maybe getting into half-cock positions is unsettling him. It is imperative that he plants his front foot full forward or moves full back to blot out the ball’s late movement, Achrekar said.

He may not have said something that Tendulkar would be unmindful of. But the age-old wisdom, reiterated again from his childhood coach, would have given the little master oodles of confidence. As Tendulkar compiled his century in the first innings of the ongoing Test in Chittagong, one could see that he was making a conscious effort to get into position early.

Source:The News