From Bat Man to Great man Sachin- Break Lara's 400 Test record

Bangalore: Ram Bhandari, the man who claims to have repaired and crafted more than 20 bats for sachin Tendulkar wants him to break Brian Lara'srecord of 400 runs in a Test before saying goodbye to the game. Bhandari whom has repaired and crafted more than 20 bats for Tendulkar, said "I pray to God that Tendulkar breaks Lara's record of 400 runs in a Test. That's one record not many are holding. If he gets it, it will make all Indians proud." here. Tendulkar has announced retirement from international cricket after playing his 200th Test match against the West Indies in November. Bhandari admitted it would a tough ask from Tendulkar to get 400 runs but if anybody is capable of doing it, it is Sachin. "Cricket is a funny game. Anything can happen. Did anybody in the world dream of somebody scoring a double hundred in a one-day game. Sachin did it. When he can do the unthinkable, why can't he do the thinkable?" he queried. Bhandari, a housekeeper at a commercial complex, customises bats as a part-time vocation. He came to Bangalore from Bihar in 1979. Bhandari said he has had a very good relation with Tendulkar and cherished how he came in contact with the master blaster in 2004. "It was Rahul Bhai (Dravid) who introduced me to Tendulkar. Ever since, the little master has been using bats modified by me," he said. When Tendulkar hit a bad patch in 2006, Bhandari figured that the weight of the bat was the culprit. He then reduced it from 1350 grams to 1250 grams. "It worked like a charm. Tendulkar hit 157 in Malaysia that brought him back to form," said Bhandari. "Tendulkar was so happy that he asked me to give him bats of this weight only." Bhandari's life-story is no bed of roses. He started his career as a stunt man after completing a course in the Vijaya Film Institute. It was around this time that Bhandari, to support his family, started repairing bats of local cricket players. Bhandari is not only popular with Tendulkar, but is a celebrity among other cricketers like Chris Gayle, Ricky Ponting, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Luke Wright, Ross Taylor and Kieran Pollard. 'Bhandari ji', as he is called by members of the Indian cricket team, has showed his skills on the bats of Dravid, Virendar Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, besides other top cricketers.