Sachin wanted to know about my last shot: Bindra

I don't think I'm a cricket fan. How can I be? All my life, I've only been interested in watching Sachin Tendulkar, and none of the other Indian batsmen. Every time he gets out, I turn off my TV, deeming it unworthy to watch anything else after that. Does that mean I'm not a true follower? I don't know. Is it possible to not follow cricket and still have Tendulkar as an idol? I don't know but I've done exactly that. 

It was during the 1996 World Cup in India that I began to follow the game, or should I say Tendulkar. I got hooked to his game for the extra grace, for the aggression that he brought to the field. Of course, over the years, Tendulkar has transformed his game. To last this long, he had to cut off a lot of shots. It was a brave move, considering all the public expectations. But he managed and got into that frame of mind. Now again, it seems like he's turning a corner. He looks more relaxed, he's playing more freely.

I know people have these big Sachin scores (like the famous one in Sharjah) as their favourites but funnily for me, it was the 40-odd that he made against the West Indies in West Indies (44 in Trinidad in 1997, against an attack comprising Ambrose, Walsh and Bishop) which I like the most. The pitch was difficult, the sky was overcast, the ball was swinging and all the other Indian batsmen were just falling apart. Tendulkar played with such ease. It showed why he is so special and that's why there are such silly expectations when it comes to him.

Although I don't know him personally but from a distance, it looks as if Tendulkar lives in a bubble. Otherwise, how do you explain the years he has been able to play without getting affected? To add to that, there were numerous surgeries. It must have been a steep ask, I'm sure, to sustain the hunger.

I first met Tendulkar during the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games for only a brief moment, when I was participating as a 13-year-old. Someone clicked a photo of us and I ensured that I had it. I came back and put it up in my room, hoping that I would have more such classic encounters. My wish was fulfilled last Monday, when I met him during an award ceremony, after 11 long years. We spoke general stuff - about our earlier meeting and a common fraud trainer we were being conned by! He then asked me about my last shot, which fetched India the Olympic gold. I became his fan, anew, that evening.