On Monday Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar launched his own cricket equipment and apparel range, Sachin by Spartan, at a high profile event in Mumbai.
Speaking on the occasion, Sachin recounted an interesting encounter he had with a Chennai waiter a few years ago. The Indian cricket legend said, "If you have an open mind, you can develop so many things. In Chennai it was a waiter who came up to me and said 'if you don't mind and don't get offended I want to tell you something.' I said 'go ahead'. He said my elbow guard restricts my bat swing. And he was 100 per cent right."
Not only did the 'Little Master' listen to the tip from the waiter but also went on to implement it in his game.
He said that though he felt uncomfortable with the elbow guard, he never thought of doing anything about it, himself. A few years down the line after being hit a couple of times on his elbow guard, Sachin realised that the padding on the elbow guard was inadequate. That's when he decided to instantly redesign his elbow guard and work on it by adding fibre and cushion on either side to absorb the impact.
"In our country everyone from paanwala to CEOs will give you advice. But one should still be open about ideas," he said. Perhaps, his open-mindedness played some role in paving his way to greatness, as he scored over 34,000 international runs and 100 centuries in his career.