He might be revered by billions of fans but Sachin Tendulkar insists he is "not god of cricket" as many would like to call him as he does "make mistakes" unlike the almighty.
"I am not God of cricket. I make mistakes, God doesn't," Tendulkar said at a promotional event here yesterday.
The 39-year-old cricketer, who has almost all the batting records that are there to be taken under his belt, said growing up he wanted to be a combination of Sunil Gavaskar and Vivian Richards.
"I wanted to be like Sunil Gavaskar as a kid. When I grew up and started watching players from outside, someone who attracted me was Vivian Richards. Everything that he did was effortless. I always thought I should be a combination of these two," Tendulkar said, while answering questions from children.
The diminutive Mumbaikar, considered the most complete batsman in modern cricket, recalled the agonising wait he endured before getting to his 100th international hundred last year during the Asia Cup.
"When I got to my 100th international century, I was not jumping or celebrating. My first question to God was why did it take so long? What did I do wrong? With a billion plus people waiting for this, it shouldn't have taken so long," he said.
"Where did I fall short? I used to practice hard, maybe harder. I got close to getting a hundred in the semifinal against Pakistan (in the 2011 World Cup) but at that stage, everybody's focus was on the World Cup. After that it was a big disappointment. But such is life, it is always better late then never," he said.
Asked what he would have been had it not been a cricketer, Tendulkar quipped he didn't really have much of achoice.
"I don't think there were many options for me, In school,the kids better not follow me. It's good to study. I triedmaintaining a balance between my studies and cricket but itdidn't work. I thought cricket was something which gave mesleepless nights. Such was my love for the game," he said.
"(But) at one stage in my life, I would go to the terracewith a tennis racquet in one hand and a cricket bat in theother. For 20 minutes it would be racquet, the next 20 wouldbe cricket. I enjoy tennis.
"It is difficult for me to imagine a life withoutcricket. If at all - tennis," said the veteran, who is oftenseen at the Wimbledon and other Grand Slams.
On wearing the national jersey and the effort he put into earn it, Tendulkar said, "Wearing the India jersey and capwas the ultimate thing for me. After that it didn't matter ifI had 10 pairs of jeans or 20 T-shirts. That journey to playfor India was incredible.
"I look back, being pushed around in trains and buses butI would be there well before practice started," he recalled.
Going down memory lane, Tendulkar said he thought hisfirst Test, against Pakistan, would be his last as he found ithard to deal with the pressure.
"The difference between standard of play (in Ranji andTests) was way too much. I thought this is my first and lastTest. When I came back to the dressing room, I was in tears. Ithought it was way too good for me. After that I spoke to afew players, they told me not to worry," said the batsman, whogot hit by a Waqar Younis bouncer but continued to bat in abloodied T-shirt.
"I wonder how did I survive for so long," he added.