#AskSRT: 11 things Sachin Tendulkar revealed about himself today

New Delhi: On the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa, the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar decided to treat his fans. No, not by playing, but by interacting with them. Sachin conducted a question and answer session on Twitter today. The number of tweets AskSRT hashtag got in a few hours proves that Sachin’s stardom is unbound and his fans still worship him. It was obvious that Sachin’s fans wanted to know a lot about his personal life. And Sachin happily obliged. He doled out some secrets about his personal life which no one knew before. Read on

Favourite food: When a fan asked what his favourite food is, Sachin replied, “Homemade cook would top the list. My mother is a brilliant cook. I love eating food and sea food, fried fish, prawns are my favourites. I cook myself as well, ‘Baigan ka bharta’ is something you should try one day.”

Importance of fans: We all know how much important Sachin is to his ardent fans. But is it a one way street only Definitely not. Sachin said, “Fans mean everything to me. It was for you that I played cricket and the best feeling was to perform in front of you. I am what I am because of you guys.” Speaking about his biggest fan Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, a smiling Sachin said, “Sudhir is truly a special fan without any expectations. He never forgets to wish me on my birthday. He is very dear to me.”

Favourite sport after cricket The number of times Sachin is seen in Wimbledon, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what his next favourite sport is. But Sachin revealed something which no one knew. Speaking about his association with tennis, he said, “I love tennis after cricket. When I was a kid I would go to the terrace with a tennis racquet and a cricket bat. My brother would chuck balls and I used to hit them, once with the racquet and another with bat.”

On remembering how the crowd cheered Sachinn, Sachinn When Sachin was asked how he feels when crowd still calls ‘Schinn, Sachinn’. To this he said, “I feel special when people say Sachinn, Sachinn. I never get tired of it no matter how many times I hear it. It reverberates in my ear even now.

On missing playing cricket: We all miss seeing Sachin hit fours and sixes. When Sachin was questioned if the feelings are mutual, he said, “I miss playing sometimes. But I understand that this 42 year old man can not play often which is why we came up with Cricket All Stars. I play sometimes with my son and his school friends.

On his favourite tennis star: When asked to choose one tennis player between Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic, Sachin chose Djokovic. However he said, “Undoubtedly Roger Federer is my all time favourite.

On getting stumped on a question: A fan asked a really tricky question which blew his mind. The query was, “When was the last time you did something for the first time” While Sachin applauded his question, he added, “This interview is the first one. I have never done such an interaction.

On his most priced possession: As a star who has everything in the world, Sachin’s priced possessions are something which he got before his International career. Sachin keep the coins he got from his coach Ramakant Vithal Achrekar. He said, “I still have the coins that were kept on stumps which I won during a practice session with Achrekar sir. Those coins are more precious than gold ones. At the age of 12, when we practiced at dark, being able to survive it was a big challenge. I liked that challenge.

On missing Michael Vaughan’s delivery English cricketer Michael Vaughan too asked a question. He questioned if being unable to hit his ball was really tough in the Cricket All Stars match. To this Sachin laughingly replied, “Michael never in my dream had I thought I would miss a delivery from you. But, I guess the rough patch outside the off stump which got the ball to swing.

Favourite moment at Wankhede Stadium: When asked what his favourite moment was, Sachin said, “Dhoni hitting that six in 2011 WC was the golden moment of my life. Viru wanted to jump before the match ended but I asked him to stay calm. When we heard the uproar in the stadium we knew something special had happened.”

On how he spent the first day after retirement: Sachin’s retirement brought tears to the eyes of his million fans. It was definitely a tough moment for him. So what did he do on his first day after retirement He answered, “The fiirst day after retirement was amazing. I was in my own space I made a cup of tea, put my feet up and sipped the tea.”