Sachin Tendulkar Hands First Copy of Book to Mother Rajni
Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography Playing it my Way will be officially released this evening. The book has already created a lot of controversy with the Little Master's scathing attack on former India coach Greg Chappell.
Sachin Tendulkar said he handed the first copy of his autobiography Playing It My Way to his mother Rajni on Wednesday, hours before the official launch.
"I gave the first copy of my book to my mother; the look of pride on her face was a priceless moment", Tendulkar said.
Gave the first copy of my book to my mother.Look of pride on her face was a priceless moment ! #PlayingItMyWayLaunch pic.twitter.com/tjU2bxN0sw
- sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 5, 2014
Tendulkar, who started playing for India at the young age of 16, remained close to both his parents despite hectic international schedules. The Master Blaster had returned home from the 1999 World Cup in England after his father Ramesh passed away. The star batsman later returned and scored a hundred against Kenya and looked skywards to thank his father. (Tendulkar's Career Would Have Been Incomplete Without World Cup: Akram)
Rajini never went to watch her son play in a stadium but she deviated from tradition by going to the Wankhede, which hosted Sachin's final and 200th Test match.
In his autobiography, which will be up for sale from Thursday, Tendulkar has claimed that former India coach Greg Chappell visited his house and tried to convince him to take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid months before the 2007 World Cup. The Australian was India coach from 2005 to 2007.
But Chappell rubbished the claims and said he enjoyed a pleasant afternoon at Tendulkar's home and the captaincy issue never came up for discussion.
Tendulkar, in the book, said that he was shocked by Chappell's suggestion and the lack of respect shown to Dravid. (Tendulkar vs Chappell: Dravid Refuses to Take Sides)
Tendulkar is scathing in his criticism of Chappell, describing him as a "ringmaster who imposed his ideas on the players without showing any signs of being concerned about whether they felt comfortable or not".
VVS Laxman, Zaheer and Harbhajan supported Tendulkar's version of the events, stating that they too had been victims of Chappell's dictatorial style of functioning.