Sachin Tendulkar talks about playing with a toe injury during the Indian tour of Australia in 2011-12.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has revealed that he had to deal with a recurrence of a ten-year-old painful toe injury during an Indian tour of Australia in 2011-2012 that caused him a lot of trouble. Tendulkar suffered a toe injury in 2000 and the same injury reappeared the following year, which kept him out of three series in Sri Lanka where New Zealand were third parties. The batting legend recalled how the same thing had a big impact on him in the second half of the 2011–2012 Indian tour of Australia, in a series that saw the guests lose 0–4 and concede the Border-Gavascar trophy to their team.

Having won the 50-man World Cup in April, it was the same period that the Indian Test team experienced one of their worst phases, losing 0-4 in England earlier that year.

“In 2000, I suffered a toe injury in South Africa, after which I also received injections. The same injury surfaced after the 2011 World Cup. This.

“Actually, I was in London on holiday and was about to join the (Indian) team there,” Tendulkar told a crowd here on Friday night during a book launch event called “Scintillation Sachin” and titled “Shatkant Ekach » in Marathi.

Tendulkar, speaking in Marathi, reported that he was in such great pain and despair that it was very difficult for him to cope, and the local doctors suggested surgery for him.

“(In Australia) it was very painful and unbearable. I used bandages, changed the insoles twice, and somehow managed to play. Most of the tour was over, but my frustration only grew.

“Australian lands are solid, which made the task even more difficult. The doctor suggested surgery,” he said.

Tendulkar said his wife Anjali flew from India to Australia in just 48 hours and helped make the right decision.

“I had to run so my pain became too much and I went to a doctor in Australia. He suggested that I have surgery and even my other leg hurt. So I shared this with Anjali, I told her that I couldn’t take this pain anymore and that “I’ve had enough” and I’ll have the operation,” he said.

“I said, ‘I’m telling the team that I can’t play, I’m in pain and it’s hard.’ Hearing this, Anjali came to Brisbane literally 48 hours later only to stop me from doing this operation,” Tendulkar said. , adding that the doctors said that if the operation had failed, it would have affected his career, leaving him in a wheelchair for at least six weeks.

Even Tendulkar’s doctor, Dr. Anant Joshi, who was also present on Friday night, said that such an injury affected ballet dancers.

Former Indian cricketers Kiran Mor, Zaheer Khan, Pravin Amre and former coach Aunshuman Gaekwad also detailed their memories of Tendulkar at the presentation.

Tendulkar also recalled one of his most memorable centuries – an epic 613-minute 241-of-436 against Australia in Sydney during the 2003-04 tour – in which he played no cover drives, considered one of his signature shots.

He said talking to his brother Ajit Tendulkar, who helped shape Tendulkar’s career early on and remained a mainstay throughout his career, helped him break through a run of regular results and rack up a huge number of points in Sydney.

Tendulkar said: “I hit the ball well in Australia but didn’t score big. So I talked to Ajit before the test in Sydney. He watched my shot and said, “There were no technical errors in your shot. But the problem is your choice of shots.” He said I need to be more disciplined when I shoot.” “Another thing he said was, ‘I don’t think a bowler will put you out of the game. You took the wrong shot and that’s why you’re out of the game. So take on the challenge so that no one pulls you out of this test.” this challenge.

“Fortunately, I scored in both innings and remained undefeated throughout the test. So he was instrumental in finding solutions, and I’m sitting in front of you only because of him.” Baseball legend has it that some of the methods that Ajit asked him to follow are forever ingrained in his subconscious.

“I actually learned pre-match preparation when I was in school, because since then only Ajit has made sure that I am better prepared for tomorrow’s match. He told me that “the match will not start at 9:30 the next morning.” “You started thinking about it the night before the game.” Since then, I have developed the habit of ironing my clothes,” he said.

“I still remember playing my 200th test and ironing my whites the day before that test. The reason for this is that when I saw my whites while ironing, my subconscious mind began to prepare for the game, ”Tendulkar. added.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)