Sachin Tendulkar wanted to be better at batting than captaincy: Chandu Borde

Former Indian cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the greatest batsman to have played the sport. The Master Blaster is widely regarded as the ‘God of Cricket’. Sachin Tendulkar, who is the highest run-scorer in Tests as well as ODIs, was known for his impeccable batting technique. Sachin Tendulkar has created a plethora of records in his glorious 24-year career. 

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Sachin Tendulkar relinquished captaincy in order to focus on batting

In fact, there was a time when the entire Indian batting line-up was dependent on Sachin Tendulkar and fans would stay glued to the television sets just to watch the batting maestro bat. Sachin Tendulkar was without a doubt one of best batsmen to have played the game but his captaincy stints were far from memorable. Now, former BCCI selection committee chairman, Chandu Borde has revealed that after becoming captain, Sachin Tendulkar gradually began losing interest for the top job.

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In 1999, India toured Australia for a 3-matchTest series and a tri-nation series also involving Pakistan. Even in ODIs, India could only register one win out of eight games while they were whitewashed in the Test series 0-3 prior to that. Sachin Tendulkar was the leading run-scorer in the series as he scored 278 runs in 3 matches. Yet he felt that he wasn’t living up to his and others expectations. It was after the same tour that Sachin Tendulkar expressed his desire to relinquish captaincy. Thereafter, India lost the home Test series against South Africa 0-2 and the series became Sachin Tendulkar’s last as India's captain.

India failed in the 90s with Kapil Dev as coach and Sachin Tendulkar as captain

While speaking to Sportskeeda, Chandu Borde revealed that after returning from the Australia tour, Sachin Tendulkar didn't want to continue with India's captaincy as he wanted to focus on his batting. Borde added that he tried to convince Tendulkar to lead the side for a long time because they were on the lookout for a new captain. However, the 'Master Blaster' wanted to focus on his batting because he could not get the performance that he wanted to put in for the team.

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Borde also revealed that some of his colleagues were annoyed with him for continuously insisting Tendulkar to continue with the captaincy. However, as Tendulkar made up his mind, they ended up appointing Sourav Ganguly. Sachin Tendulkar captained Team India in 98 matches across formats. However, he had a dismal captaincy record, where India lost 52 matches and won only 27 under his captaincy. His winning percentage as a captain was a moderate 28 per cent. The record is dismal despite the likes of 1983 World Cup winners Kapil Dev and Madan Lal coaching India under Tendulkar's two captaincy stints in the 90s. Fortunately, India turned the tables around after Sourav Ganguly succeeded Sachin Tendulkar.

Madan Lal also recently stated about Tendulkar being someone who was obsessed so much with his batting that captaincy did not come naturally to him, which is why he could not live up to the potential and skills that he otherwise had as a leader since in cricket, a captain has to manage his own performance but more importantly, of his 10 teammates as well. Lal conceded that Sourav Ganguly perfected that art, doing his job quietly in the background.

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IMAGE COURTESY: AP