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Sachin, Sehwag friends off field
Sachin and Sehwag do not just open the Indian innings in ODIs, they are good friends too ? though the youngster calls Tendulkar paaji.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag do not just open the Indian innings in one-day internationals, they are good friends too -- though the youngster calls Tendulkar paaji (elder brother).
Off the field also, they often stick together -- while eating, shopping and often coming up with some off-hand innovations at practice sessions.
Despite being different in many ways -- as also their brand of batting -- Tendulkar and the country's lone Test triple centurion Sehwag have one thing in common: passion for cricket.
Sehwag, 25, owes a lot to the 31-year-old Tendulkar and continues to respect him like he did before his international debut in 1999. The swashbuckler from New Delhi's Najafgarh area, for instance, is thankful to Tendulkar for advising him to keep a cool head while nearing his triple century in the Multan Test against Pakistan in March.
Tendulkar too seems to enjoy Sehwag's company at the crease, though while the senior batsman gradually builds his innings, the Delhi player blasts the opposition from the word go.
The other day at a net session here, Tendulkar and Sehwag indulged in some by-play. Apparently not satisfied with the bounce of the ball on the slightly wet practice pitch, Tendulkar asked Sehwag to bowl seam-up so that he could get used to the bounce. And they enjoyed the result.
Then, when Sehwag batted, Tendulkar beat him often with his leg-cutters, making the Delhi Ranji captain smile and accept the versatility of the man who holds many world batting records, including the highest number of one-day internationals played -- 336.
PATHAN UNDER SPOTLIGHT
Left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan continues to hog the spotlight, and quite literally. The bowler, who gained further recognition during the March-April tour of Pakistan, is much sought after by the media and autograph hunters.
The other evening, the Baroda bowler came down to the Taj Samudra lobby and gave three successive interviews to news channels, apparently on a pre-fixed appointment. That they barely lasted a few minutes is a different question.
Pathan has bowled well during the ongoing Asia Cup and, for the time being, opens the attack along with Lakshmipathy Balaji, another find of the Pakistan tour. Now that Pathan's state-mate, left-arm speedster Zaheer Khan, is fit for India's next game, it will be interesting to see if Balaji, who has been wayward in Sri Lanka, retains his place in the XI.
No wonder India's pace department has perhaps never attracted as much media attention as it is lately.
ASIA CUP HOTS UP
The atmosphere is hotting up at Taj Samudra, the hotel where the teams are staying, as the Asia Cup is set to enter the final week of action. There are more autograph seekers seen in the hotel lobby than during the first-round matches.
The moment a player or coach passes through the lobby - whether to go to the restaurant, the swimming pool or the gymnasium - the autograph seekers shout the name of the player/coach and suddenly he is besieged by a group of mainly youngsters.
Even the elders are no less enthusiastic. One evening as left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra returned from the a pool session and was talking to his acquaintances, a pretty matured man thrust his mobile near the Delhi bowler's face to click his photograph. It can be irritating at times, but Nehra continued his conversation.
It looks like when it comes to taking an autograph or photograph, no one wants to miss an opportunity.
