Sachin Tendulkar's 50th birthday: Master Blaster once picked his favourite player; it wasn't Dravid or Ganguly

Sachin Tendulkar turns 50 on Monday. Meanwhile, recalling his playing days, he was asked to pick his favourite player from his then-Team India. Despite having top options like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, he opted for someone else.

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"You are blessed with so much talent. You can see the ball a split second earlier than me..." was how legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar described the batting prowess of his 'favourite' former teammate VVS Laxman during the 1999-2000 Australia tour, reveals a new book "Sachin@50: Celebrating a Maestro". The story, narrated by former Indian cricketer MSK Prasad in the book, was from a conversation between Prasad, Laxman and Sachin about their favourite players in the then-Indian team touring Australia.

While Prasad, who was also part of the team, said he liked Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, Tendulkar, captain of the then-Indian team, declared Laxman as his favourite player. "If you don't smile and show your teeth, I'll say you are my favourite player," said Tendulkar to the always-smiling Laxman, who thought the Master Blaster was making fun of him.

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But Tendulkar wasn't. He even elaborated on the reasons for picking the stylish middle-order batsman as his favourite player among Dravid, Ganguly and others. "You are blessed with so much talent. You can see the ball a split second earlier than me. God has given you exceptional talent which you cannot understand," said Tendulkar as recounted by Prasad in the book, which has who's and who of the sporting world sharing their experiences with the legend himself.

As per the conversation, Tendulkar, dubbed the 'God of Cricket', said that, unlike Laxman, god gave him the "minimum talent" he was "maximising". "I have four gears in my batting -- defence, push, drive and loft. I understand the conditions and use my logic and perform accordingly. You have so much talent that you can straightway bat on fourth gear. You see the ball so early that you don't worry about the conditions. That way, sometimes you click, and sometimes you fail. The day you realise the value of the first three gears, you will become a legend of the game," he explained.

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A tribute to the global sporting phenomenon, "Sachin@50: Celebrating a Maestro" features essays and pieces by well-known figures, including Tendulkar's family -- wife Anjali Tendulkar and elder brother Ajit Tendulkar -- and cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma. The book, published by Simon & Schuster India, will officially launch on Monday for Tendulkar's 50th birthday.

(With inputs from PTI)