Sachin releases book at Lord's, says major sports plan for India in offing

Iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar hinted on Friday that a major proposal on sports, which he has submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be unveiled soon.

At the UK launch of his much-hyped autobiography, Playing It My Way, Tendulkar said the details of the plan would be released soon.

The Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament ruled out any plans of entering politics but confirmed that he is in talks with the Modi government on a proposal which he will reveal soon.

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"I was a sportsman and will be a sportsman forever. I have handed over a proposal recently which presents my vision and the PM has been receptive," he told reporters at a launch event at the Lord's Cricket Ground.

"I have already given one proposal some time ago to the government. Recently also I met the PM and shared my vision with him and he was extremely receptive and immediately afterwards met with his team. We are working on something which you will know soon," he said.

While Tendulkar did not completely rule out coaching the Indian cricket team in future, he stressed that he has already been unofficially sharing his knowledge with current players and will continue to do so.

"Twenty-four years with cricket is a long time to spend away from family. I feel players are approachable to me and I am approachable to them. We have been discussing over the phone on various issues and there were also a few players who ended up coming to Mumbai to work with me and we had a couple of sessions each, trying to figure out what could be corrected," he said.

"It's about sharing your knowledge, sharing your thoughts and that's what I have been doing and I don't think I need a post to be able to pass on that message. The response that I have always received from players has been special because they respect me and the respect is mutual.

The 41-year-old batting legend said that the players were receptive to his advice.

"Whatever I say, they listen to me and there’s a healthy discussion on that. It’s not that whatever I say is the final word. It's nice to talk cricket. As long as I am able to do that, it really doesn’t matter whether I am the official coach of the team or not."

The former Indian cricketer was joined at the London launch of his book by ex-England cricket captain Nasser Hussain, who Tendulkar described in his book as "the best captain" he has played against.

Hussain asked him about the toughest aspect of writing the autobiography, given how private he is as a person.

"I've covered most of my life I would say. The toughest bit for me to cover was my personal life with Anjali, which nobody knew about. That was really difficult," Tendulkar responded.

"The icing on the cake was when we won the 2011 World Cup, which I have covered extensively, including how I had a flower in my ear as I danced with my wife with a bottle of champagne in hand. It [book] is a good insight into what I have been through in my life," he said.

Regarding the impact the book has already had in India, he said, "I have not tried to create controversies intentionally. Certain statements I make in the book have made headlines but the idea was not to make headlines.

"During my playing days, I felt all my energy should focused in one direction, which is scoring runs and winning matches for India. And I honestly didn't have the time or energy for anything else. But now my career is over I thought it was only fair I brought this out and let people know what I have been through," Tendulkar said.

The publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, have claimed that the book has already broken all records for a hardback in India.

Image: Sachin Tendulkar launches his book, Playing It My Way, at Lord's Cricket Ground on Friday.

Photograph: PTI