With over 28,000 international runs and 85 centuries in Tests and ODIs, there’s hardly a record left that Sachin Tendulkar doesn’t own. The Mumbai maestro, however, isn’t finished yet and has set a new target for himself — of 15,000 runs in Tests.
"I am not yet pleased with what I have done. Sunil Gavaskar has told me that I have to get to 15,000 runs and said he would be angry with me, come and catch me if I didn’t. I admire him so much and to score that many would be a terrific achievement but that is not the only aim for me," Tendulkar said in an interview to Wisden Cricketer.
"Winning the World Cup in 2011 is also my target," he added.
The master blaster — who has played in 159 Tests (12,773 runs) and 425 ODIs (16,684 runs) — is in his 20th year of international cricket but is showing no signs of slowing down.
"I have given it (retirement) no thought at all," he said. "I am good at cricket, so I will play a while longer. I still love the game as much as ever, it is my job but it remains my passion too."
But the wear and tear of playing professional sport for over two decades was catching up with him, Sachin admitted.
"I always play in pain, all the time. I’ve played with a broken finger for the last three months, but you know when pain is manageable or not, and most of the time I can do it," he said.
The 36-year-old hit back at the former Australian coach John Buchanan for pointing out faults in his technique. "It is only his opinion. Buchanan doesn’t have to be right all the time. If I couldn’t handle short deliveries, then I wouldn’t still be scoring runs," Tendulkar retorted.
Tendulkar also had glowing tributes for his opening partner in ODIs — Virender Sehwag. "I would say Virender Sehwag comes closest to my style," he said.
The skipper of Mumbai Indians IPL team also came out in support of Test cricket. "There is no way Test cricket is dying. Twenty20 is the dessert and you can’t survive on that. Who wants to eat only desserts? Test cricket is my main course, with all the meat and vegetables, and then it is nice to have T20 as a dessert!" Tendulkar said.
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