Sachin Tendulkar was sad and contemplated retirement once I joined as head coach, says Gary Kirsten

Former India head coach Gary Kirsten has opened up on his time with the Indian group, recalling that when he joined, legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar was sad and was considering retirement.

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 14, 2023 21:47 IST

Kirsten says it was necessary to attach with Tendulkar (Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: Former India head coach Gary Kirsten has opened up on his time with the Indian group, recalling that when he joined, legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar was sad and was considering retirement.

Speaking to Adam Collins on ‘The Final Word cricket podcast’ present on YouTube, Kirsten stated Tendulkar was deeply sad when he joined because the coach of the Indian group, including that Tendulkar felt perhaps he ought to retire from the sport.

“Sachin was probably a stand out for me because he was deeply unhappy at the time that I joined the team. He felt he had a lot to offer, but he wasn’t enjoying his cricket and he was at a time in his career when he felt may be he should retire,” said Kirsten.

The former South Africa batter said it was important for him to connect with Tendulkar and make him feel that he had a contribution to make in the Indian side.

“It was important for me to connect with him and make him feel that he had a massive contribution to make to the team and his contribution was more than what he needed to do,” Kirsten added.

Kirsten said the most important thing for him was to find suitable leadership to take a very talented Indian team and turn it into a world-beating team. Kirsten was the coach when India won the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai.

“The standout for me then was what sort of management was then required to take this very proficient group and switch it right into a world-beating group. That was the conundrum for any coach transferring into that scenario,” stated Kirsten.

He went on to say that there was a number of scaring and unhappiness throughout the group when he took over, insisting that he trying to issues that may make the gamers play cricket for sheer pleasure.

“When I took over there was definitely a lot of scaring in the team. There was a lot of unhappiness and hence for me it was more important to understand each individual and where they felt they fitted in the team and what was going to make them play cricket for the sheer joy,” Kirsten added.

Edited By:

Rounaq Sehrawat

Published On:

Feb 14, 2023