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"Aat ye..tikde changla aahe" (Finish and then we will go in. That's better). That's Sachin Tendulkar in his native Marathi, speaking to the only other Mumbai boy in the squad-Rohit Sharma, who promptly walks out of the outdoor nets and heads straight to the indoor nets. What followed next was a closed-door session of Tendulkar and Rohit one-on-one. This was no isolated case. There had been a few other little sessions. And that has been the biggest story on this tour-the little master and his six young pupils.

Most on this tour began their cricket lessons at a time when Tendulkar was making his international debut. He had seen the wholesale changes three times in his career so far. First as a youngster, he played in the company of the likes of Dilip Vengsarkar, Kris Srikkanth, Navjot Sidhu, Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Manjrekar, then with Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid and now, finally, with this young team.

Tendulkar recognises the huge responsibility he has with this young side as Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Kaarthick strive to form the new nucleus of Team India in time for the next World Cup.

That's what skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni wants and that's what the selectors are looking up to. And, Tendulkar is happy to help the young lot and slip in as a perfect mentor. Though nobody has been talking about it in the open, there's no denying the fact.

There's a great sense of respect for 'Sachin paaji' in this touring side. Tendulkar says "he's always accessible to all the players in the team. Anybody in the team can come up to me and say if I am doing something wrong. In fact, I tell them not to wait till I do that mistake, tell me the moment they feel something is going wrong."

Sachin practises what he preaches. So Tendulkar has been speaking to Gambhir, Uthappa, Tiwary, Rohit and others personally from time to time on their respective roles in the team, teaching them how to programme their game and mind in the interests of the team and match situations. He's helping them out with all vital tips about their technique and how to adjust to the surface in Australia, working with them with the bowling machine and throws down to work on the specifics.

Today, apart from Rohit, Tendulkar bowled to Uthappa in a match-simulation mode; "ab thirdman aage hai," he says and bowls. "Well done, good shot," he applauds after Uthappa squeezes a shot into one of the vacant areas. The beauty of the entire process of Tendulkar's mentorship is that he mingles with them- in a friendly, relaxed and enjoyable manner without trying to prove to anyone -by trying to compete with the younger lot on every count, from fielding to fitness.

Coach in-charge on this tour, Lalchand Rajput, also acknowledges Tendulkar's role as a senior player and mentor. "Experience of Sachin is vital. He's been sharing valuable tips with the youngsters and telling them about his experience of playing under these conditions," he says.

Sixteen thousand ODI runs and over 11,000 runs in the longer version with 39 Test centuries. Tendulkar's service to Indian cricket has been unmatched, but his contribution in setting up the new brigade will be even greater and remain highly acknowledged.

Tracker2

Sachin shapes up youngsters

The Indians finally had a full practice session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday even as the weather threatened to disrupt their preparation for the next CB series game against Australia on Sunday.

Windy conditions meant the swing bowlers had a good time but the batsmen got something special — individual lectures on the nuances of batting in Australian conditions and wickets from the master, Sachin Tendulkar.

Tendulkar spent quite some time speaking to the younger members of the side before they went in to bat and even bowled some medium paced deliveries at them with simulated fielding positions.

Coach-incharge Lalchand Rajput applauded the Mumbai batsman’s role as a senior who is keen on shaping the newcomers. "Sachin shares his experience with the younger members of the team, which is very vital. These youngsters have had not much practice on Australian wickets and it helps them a lot that a guy who has seen and done it all gives them tips on technique," Rajput said after the session.

"Whenever they go into the nets, they should play as if they are batting in a match. That’s the only way to get the best out of them," Rajput added.

Referring to their rain-marred games, Rajput said though the team were satisfied with their four points as ‘they mean a lot’, they ‘would have been happier had there been fuller games’ which would have given them the chance to have a go at full points besides providing them proper match practice.

However, he tried to sound content by saying, "our batsmen got a hit in the middle and that is a good sign for us."

Talking about Thursday’s session, Rajput said, "This is the first time we have had a full net during the one-day series and the players enjoyed it.

"It was a good start to the preparation for the next game," he said.

The Indians, who last took to the field on February 5, have been keeping themselves in shape though, according to Rajput. "There is a long gap between matches but we have had maintenance sessions in the morning followed by nets in the evening. Everyone is keen to do something," he said, adding "We have to work on all areas — batting, bowling and fielding. We are using these three days to improve in all the departments."

Rajput backed Yuvraj Singh despite his un-impressive performance so far on the tour. "Every batsman goes through bad patches. Yuvraj was also injured but is now completely fit and raring to go," he offered.

He reminded the vice-captain of his responsibilities as well by saying, "Yuvraj and Dhoni are the key players in the middle order for us and we hope these two do well."

jagruti

Truly professional player.

bunty

He is senior play in out team he really deserves master blaster

amitesh ghate

ya he is an idol for all the new players
hope that no. of sachin will come into Indian cricket team in future

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karkhanisonkar

sachin tendulkar.....a perfect cricket player.....i too worship him and hope so all the youngsters will do so

manav2003parekh

perfect master blaster, another bradman just below new pic. He is injured for 2nd test I think he came back and and tough high score in test. Good luck sachin.