Sach is the man | Deccan Chronicle |

Sach is the man | Deccan Chronicle | 2010-12-26
Named by his father after legendary music director Sachin Dev Burman.

* Was a naughty kid. In his own words, “I was extremely naughty. Very, very difficult to handle. I had a nanny who used to run after me virtually 24 hours a day.”

* Used to go fishing for tadpoles and guppy fish in the stream that ran through the compound of Sahitya Sahwas at Bandra East.

* Was a bully in school but was kind to cats and dogs. His first captain Sunil Harshe said he loved to pick a fight. Every time he was introduced to someone, his first thought was “Will I be able to beat him?”

* Was a big fan of US tennis star John McEnroe. He says: “I was the only one supporting John McEnroe. Everyone called me ‘Mac’ because I styled myself on him.”

* Fell from a tree on a Sunday evening when Dev Anand-starrer Guide was on TV. Brother (and mentor) Ajit packed him off to cricket coaching class as punishment.

* Wanted to be a tearing fast bowler. Even went to MRF Pace academy, but head coach Dennis Lilee told him to focus.

* His coach at Shardashram, Ramakant Achrekar used to offer a 1 rupee coin as a prize to anyone who dismissed him. If he remained not out, the coin belonged to Sachin. He has a big bunch of those coins with him.

* Sang and whistled with Vinod Kambli during their 664 run stand in Harris shield in 1988 to avoid eye contact with coach who wanted to declare.

* Used to sleep with his cricket gear during his junior days.