I have been reading Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography. Most of the details in the book are already known, which is not surprising as Sachin has been one of the most 'written and talked about' celebrity. It is the smaller incidents and anecdotes that are quite interesting.
The section that I have loved the most so far is about what he felt when Rahul Dravid declared the innings in Multan in 2004, leaving Sachin stranded at 194 not out. That was undoubtedly a surprising decision. I had not watched the press conference afterwards and I did not know that Sachin had indeed communicated his surprise and disappointment. What is interesting is the point that Sachin has made in the book about Dravid delaying a declaration in Australia when Dravid was close to a century. On top of it, Sachin was pacing his innings in Multan as he knew the team plans and when exactly the team would declare. However, Dravid decided to declare an over in advance. The coach, Sourav Ganguly, Prof. Ratnakar Shetty (Manager) later told Sachin that it was not their decision and they felt sorry for Sachin. So, it was completely Dravid's decision.
It is interesting to note that with that double hundred, Sachin would have equalled Dravid's tally of double-hundreds in Test cricket. Did that play a role? (Note: This is not in the book. It is my speculation)
I am surprised and happy that Sachin has communicated his thoughts about the incident so openly through the book.
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