The way Sachin Tendulkar reacts to every ball is the coaching manual right in front of you: Aakash Chopra

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra shared a rather hilarious anecdote during his time in the national team which involves legendary cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, and also talked about his finesse in the game. The Indian great celebrated his 50^th birthday on Monday, April 24.

‘Little Master’, as affectionately called by his fans, dominated the sport for over two decades and engraved his name in the history books for various records that he went on to create. Tendulkar was a genius with the bat and played the technical strokes with utmost perfection during his stint as a professional player. 

Cricketer-turned-broadcaster Aakash Chopra shared a hilarious incident in one of the training sessions involving Tendulkar. In his own words, Aakash stated that he was flabbergasted when the batting legend had asked for suggestions on maintaining the right footwork and if he watched the ball well enough. 

“During my time in the national team, he (Sachin Tendulkar) would ask, ‘Aakash, would you mind standing behind the stumps?’ Of course, I would have stood there anyway, as there is so much to learn. What better place to stand and learn batting? ‘Just peeche khade ho jaao aur unko (Tendulkar) khelte huye Dekho.’ The way he reacts to every ball is the coaching manual right in front of you,” read an excerpt from Boria Majumdar's 'Sachin@50'.

“So, I would stand there always. In fact, he would ask questions if his footwork was correct or if the shuffle, he was trying was coming out well? Watching the ball close enough? I would be embarrassed that why is Paaji asking me? But he would continue to ask,” added Aakash.

The Mumbai-born batter still remains the leading run-scorer in international cricket and holds the record separately in Tests and ODIs as well. In addition to this, he amassed 51 Test centuries and 49 ODI tons, making him the first and only batter to do so with a record 100 centuries in total. Tendulkar concluded his glittering career in 2013, two years after attaining glory as India won the 2011 ODI World Cup in Mumbai.