‘At dinner, he practised with a fork’: Tendulkar’s 'obsession' a lesson for Gill’s India after South Africa whitewash

Navjot Sindh Sidhu cited Sachin Tendulkar’s example as a lesson for the current generation of Indian batters.

There is a reason why Sachin Tendulkar is called the 'God of cricket.' It wasn't because of the runs he scored, or the records he broke, or the highest standards he set across formats, but because of the small, unseen habits that made him extraordinary long before the records did. His former India teammate, Navjot Singh Sidhu, on Wednesday, recalled one such episode illustrating his drive and obsession to not accept defeat, which could serve as a valuable lesson for the Shubman Gill-led Indian Test team, who recently faced criticism for their home Test series whitewash against South Africa.

Navjot Sidhu's revelation underscored Sachin Tendulkar’s constant willingness to correct himself and return stronger as a batter.

South Africa defeated India 2-0 in the home series last month. It was India’s second whitewash on home soil in 12 months, the previous one being the 0-3 loss to New Zealand last year. Both defeats exposed India’s growing frailty against spin. In the series against the Proteas, off-spinner Simon Harmer claimed 17 wickets in two Tests at an average of just 8.94.

As experts dissected India’s struggles against a skill they once dominated, former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin pointed out on his YouTube channel that, barring Washington Sundar, the standout batter across the two matches, no other Indian player attempted the sweep shot against the spinners.

Speaking to Sportstar, Sidhu recalled how Sachin Tendulkar added the sweep to his armoury after being dismissed by Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya in a Test match. It wasn’t just another anecdote; it underscored Tendulkar’s constant willingness to correct himself and return stronger as a batter.

“He was tied down by Sanath Jayasuriya in a Test match where I was batting at the non-striker’s end. He kept bowling outside the leg stump. Tendulkar got frustrated, tried to pull, and got out because he did not know how to sweep,” Sidhu said.

“He was sitting in the dressing room after the game. Everybody had left, but he was still there. Ajit Wadekar sir, the then team manager, asked me to get him into the team bus. I went up to him, and he said, ‘ Aisa nahi chalega.’ I replied, ‘Kya ho gaya, ek out hi hua, koi chakkar nahi hai. He was bowling negative, don’t worry.’”

Sidhu recalled that Tendulkar quickly turned his frustration into an obsession — one that even spilled onto the dinner table.

“He called up 10 spinners, all left-armers, from Chandigarh. He reached the ground at seven in the morning and was just sweeping, sweeping, sweeping. I had never seen him sweep before,” he recalled.

“There was an incident during dinner. I was there, Sanjay [Manjrekar] was there, [Ajay]Jadeja was there. And with his fork, Sachin was doing this,” Sidhu said, imitating a sweep shot.

Sidhu cited Tendulkar’s example as a lesson for the current generation of Indian batters.

“That’s called living one idea, breathing one idea, sleeping one idea. That’s commitment. Cricket was Tendulkar’s life. Getting out like that was a blow to his self-esteem. And what hurts your pride should hurt,” he said.

“India losing at home should hurt too. But it’s not about just wanting to return to where you were. It’s about finding the means to get there. If you take care of the means, the goal takes care of itself. And the means are exactly what I’ve spoken about.”