"During The Entire 2003 World Cup In South Africa, Paaji Didn’t Bat In The Nets For Even One Single Day" - Harbhajan Singh Shares An Interesting Story About Sachin Tendulkar

The ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar is considered one of the modern-day greats of Indian cricket. The former Indian batter Tendulkar, famously known as the ‘God of Cricket’ by fans, achieved many milestones in his illustrious 24-year career. Harbhajan Singh shared an interesting story about Sachin’s preparation during the 2003 ODI World Cup in South Africa.

Legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar was at the peak of his career during the 2003 World Cup and finished as the leading run-getter of the tournament. The right-handed batter smashed 673 runs in the marquee event with an average of 61.18. The Mumbai-born cricketer smashed six half-centuries and a century, including his famous 98 against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Centurion.

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Harbhajan Singh praised Sachin Tendulkar as a role model for many people for his off-field behaviour despite having a massive fan base in India.

“Paaji (as Tendulkar is referred to by junior teammates) is perhaps someone who is closest to being a perfect cricketer. Obviously, as a person he is a role model and an example of how to lead your life with dignity, humility, despite enjoying god-like status and insane following in our country,” Harbhajan told PTI during an interaction ahead of Tendulkar’s 50th birthday.

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Harbhajan Singh recalled one of his memories of Sachin Tendulkar from the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. The Turbanator said that Sachin did not come to bat in the nets for a single match during the event.

“To understand the genius of Sachin Tendulkar, one little story will be enough. During the entire 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Paaji didn’t bat in the nets for even one single day,” he added.

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“The Indian bowling unit performed well but neither Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan nor Anil Kumble or myself bowled even once to him at nets during the tournament,” Harbhajan recollected.

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Sachin Tendulkar Would Take Throw-Downs For Hours – Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh revealed the reason behind that practice, saying that the throw-downs from 16-18 yards helped give him an extra bit of time to react to the ball early.

“In 2003, we didn’t have those throw-down apparatus (Robo-Arm), like we have today. But we had a gentleman named Shyamal, who would give Paaji throw-downs from 18 yards, and at times, 16 yards. He would take throw-downs for hours and that was his practice.

“He was very big on preparation and visualization of bowlers he would face. In those pre-analyticy days (there used to be video analyst though), in his head, he knew how to tackle each bowler,” Harbhajan concluded.

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