Sachin Tendulkar is reportedly "unhappy" with Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) officials' attempts to go overboard with their celebrations for his 199th Test match in his farewell series against the West Indies starting here from Wednesday.
There were contradictory statements from two joint secretaries of CAB with Sujan Mukherjee admitting that the maestro indeed was not amused with all the arrangements while the other joint secretary Subir Ganguly said that everything was under control.
As Tendulkar was the first to step down from the team bus this morning, confetti were burst near the gate, while 80 schoolchildren wearing T-shirts with the Mumbai batsman's photo and 199 written on the back, lined up till the dressing room to greet the seniormost cricketer.
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Sachin Tendulkar. File Pic
If that was not enough, the CAB tried to do a Madame Tussauds erecting a life-like wax figure of Tendulkar next to the dressing room entrance but the finesse was missing in the statue with the face not exactly resembling the icon.
According to sources, Tendulkar reportedly said he's not bigger than the sport and it's not him only there are 14 other players who are part of the Indian squad.
"I too heard that Tendulkar was upset with the confetti burst and other things. He also cancelled his visit to a photo exhibition at the Bhowanipore Tent," senior joint secretary Mukherjee told PTI.
It is learnt that the CAB officials later did some damage control as Tendulkar came and gave a photo-op near the wax statue and praised the wax craftsman Susanta Ray of Asansol.
"Sachin and everyone else in the team was happy with the grand arrangements," the other joint secretary Ganguly, said.
Tendulkar prepares hard for his final Eden outing
Preparing for his last outing at the iconic Eden Gardens, legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar was a picture of focus and concentration as the Indian team hit the nets on Monday ahead of the all important Test match against the West Indies beginning Nov 6.
Tendulkar started off with some warm up exercises and subsequently rolled his arm over at the nets.
Bowling in tandem with spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, Tendulkar dished out leg breaks and Murli Vijay had some difficulty negotiating the spin at the nets. He was beaten on a couple of occasions by Tendulkar's sharp turning deliveries.
After bowling for a few minutes, the little master padded up and chatted with coach Duncan Fletcher as he waited for his turn at the nets.
He first faced the pacers, displaying his watertight defence. While other batsmen at the adjacent nets missed or edged a few, Tendulkar looked at ease hitting his trademark drives.
He tackled the pacers for around 15 minutes before moving to the adjacent net where the spinners were on the job. He also asked Ojha ,who was bowling more at the stumps, to alter his line which the left arm obliged.
Tendulkar, who seems to have lost none of the zeal for batting despite spending a marathon 24 years in top flight cricket, was in his element against the spinners as he executed elegant drives and cuts much to the delight of a motley crowd of aspiring cricketers.
The batting legend knocked at the nets for another 20 minutes and then made way for the others, as he watched the youngsters practice at the nets.
After a brief rest and chat with team mates, Tendulkar moved to the far away net where local club bowlers were in action. He knocked a few balls and later gave a few tips to the youngsters.
Meanwhile, Fletcher was seen engaged in an animated chat with opener Shikhar Dhawan whose stint at the nets was uncomfortable as he continuously missed or edged. The coach was seen gesturing to Dhawan about ways to play the rising ball.
At the fag end of the practice, when the Indian players were busy in fielding drills, Dhawan spent some time discussing matters with Tendulkar.
Before moving out with his team mates, Tendulkar had a brief fielding session where he concentrated on some catching practice.u00a0
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