After conquering the cricket field, Sachin Tendulkar is all set to break new records - this time in the virtual world. He signed up on Twitter at midnight on Wednesday, and on Thursday, he had over a lakh followers. In a one-on-one, Sachin talks about his tweeting ways.
Q. Why did you start tweeting?
Sachin: Actually, it was Atul Kasbekar (photographer) and other guys who kept asking me whether I am on Twitter. When I said I am not, they informed me about a fake Sachin who is giving his opinion every now and then on various matches. I felt it was unfair - people getting wrong ideas, wrong messages, which were not from me.
Q. Just to confirm - the right address is @sachin_rt?
Sachin: Yes.
Q. Did your first tweet come after some practice?
Sachin: No. I just did it! I am getting used to it and in fact, want to put out a message saying 'Hope you bear with me. I am not used to all of this.' This is being done basically not to mislead people, which someone was doing in my name. The other reason to start tweeting is to keep in touch with my well-wishers and letting them know my views on things if I decide to comment on something.
Q. Are you going to be consistent as a Tweeter?
Sachin: To be honest, it is not my nature to share a lot (of views). I am a bit of a reserved, private person, but yes, I wouldn't mind sharing a few things. But also, making sure that my personal life is not affected or out in the public completely. It's just striking that fine balance between both and letting people know what I have been up to. The balance is going to be important.
Q. So it's not going to be a transformation from private Sachin to public Sachin...
Sachin: Let's put it this way... not completely public and not completely private. It will be somewhere in between but that balance is something I have not been able to figure out because I have just started last night.
Q. You said that you were surprised by the response but not many people are surprised.
Sachin: I was surprised because I just started at night around 12.30- 1 am. The kind of responses I got within no time included queries; as to how do we believe it is you. So I uploaded personal pictures, which nobody in the world has.
Q. The crab photograph was pretty outstanding. Where was it shot?
Sachin: In Goa. If you see the picture closely, the crabs are tied by a string. I have never held crabs as big as these. They are virtually twice the size of my face -- massive and live ones. The guy who had brought them along later set them free. That's why I said in the caption that I am holding them and not eating them for a change.
Q. You are following only Zaheer Khan and Atul Kasbekar. Is that number going to increase?
Sachin: It will. I am just new to this.
Q. MiD DAY has started a campaign to make you No. 1 on Twitter. Your reaction.
Sachin: (Laughs) It's wonderful! I will try and live up to the expectations. I know that it is tough but whatever is possible from my side, I will do.
Late night Tweet
3.20 am, today: Had a quiet meal @ the Taj Zodiac grill and chef Hemant Oberoi served us some delicious food. Meal lasted 4 hrs but it was totally worth it
Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar believes his record innings can be surpassed after he became the first player to hit a double hundred in a one-day international.
Tendulkar hit 200 not out as India beat South Africa by 153 runs in Gwalior, scoring his runs off just 147 deliveries after opening the innings with Virender Sehwag.
The previous record for the highest individual score in a ODI was 194, a mark jointly held by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry.
Tendulkar was on 199no heading into the 50th over of Wednesday's match, and reached his landmark with a single off Charl Langeveldt, deliberately allowing the big-hitting Mahendra Singh Dhoni to dominate the strike.
"I knew I would get my chance in the over," Tendulkar said. "I will remember this innings. But I will not compare it with my other efforts.
"Each innings is different, the circumstances are different. No record is unbreakable. But I would be happy if an Indian breaks my record."
He stressed: "I do not play for records. I enjoy my cricket and I play with passion. I have done this for 20 years."
The 36-year-old claimed it was not until he was 25 runs short he felt a double hundred was possible.
"I thought about the 200 mark for the first time when I was probably 175-plus and only 42 overs had been bowled," he said.
"I felt I had a chance, but I didn't think of it seriously until I got really close. Only then I thought there was an opportunity to be had.
"I thought I could take the singles and give Dhoni the strike, because he was striking the ball very well."
Tendulkar already has a world record 13,447 runs in Test cricket and has compiled the most centuries in Tests. No-one has scored more runs in ODIs than Tendulkar, who indicated after Wednesday's exploits he had no plans of retiring any time soon.
"I'm enjoying my cricket and I'm playing the way I want to play," he said.
"I've done whatever I thought was best for the team.
"I have made a few bad decisions as a batsman, but I think as long as I know in my heart that what I think is right for the team, I'm going to do just that."
