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India tour Pakistan
- Samsung Cup 2004 |
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Tendulkar can’t wait to get stuck into Pakistan
MUMBAI: India batsman Sachin Tendulkar is licking
his lips at the prospect of playing test cricket in Pakistan again,
even though he admits feeling uneasy about the hype surrounding the
historic series.
Tendulkar made his debut on India’s 1989/90 tour of Pakistan as a
teenager but India have not played another Test series in Pakistan
since then owing to political tensions between the two neighbouring
countries.
"It’s a great feeling and I am really excited,"
Tendulkar said on Friday after training at a ground in suburban
Bandra where he used to play as a young boy. "At that time I
was 16 years old, I was very young," he said of the 1989 trip.
"Now having been around for 14-and-a-half years it’s exciting
after such a long time (that) you are getting an opportunity to play
in Pakistan."
Tendulkar also led India in 1997 to play three one-dayers in
Pakistan but the latest series is generating huge interest because
of a recent thaw in relations between the nations.
The tour has also been hyped as a duel between Tendulkar and
Pakistan’s express bowler Shoaib Akhtar.
Shoaib yorked Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid off successive balls to
bowl his team to victory in the Asian Test Championship in 1999
while Tendulkar smashed him over point for a stunning six in his
match-winning 98 at the 2003 World Cup.
However Tendulkar said: "It’s not like that. One factor which
is always common is India vs Australia or India vs Pakistan. Two
countries playing against each other rather than two individuals
playing against each other."
He appealed to India’s cricket-mad fans and the media not to get
too carried away.
"I want to tell the people to keep a balanced mind," he
said. "There will be some good days, there will be some bad
days. "I think everyone should take responsibility. Not only
players, but spectators and the media too. Whatever anyone speaks or
writes should be correctly thought out.
"Just as players are trying their best so that they can play a
good game, everyone should try to enjoy the game well. This is my
request. "We will put our best efforts. All we have to focus is
on cricket and put up a good show. We’ll be winning the games and
we are going there to win."
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