Sachin slams those who doubted India's ability

MUMBAI: Sachin Tendulkar on Friday slammed critics who doubted the Indian team's ability to retain the No 1 world ranking soon after they achieved it more than a year ago and said that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side was still atop the ladder today was proof of the team's calibre.

"Many people thought we would be on top for only 30-40 days when we achieved the no 1 spot in Tests (beating Sri Lanka at home) as the South Africa series (at home) was next."

"After losing the first Test at Nagpur we heard we will lose the no 1 spot. But after more than a year we are still standing there. In this competitive era it is fantastic," said Tendulkar at the Castrol Awards function here on Friday.

Tendulkar received three awards -- the Indian Cricketer of the year (2009-10 season), the Test Cricketer of the year and a special award for completing 50 Test tons. In all, he received Rs nine lakh.

Tendulkar said the team faced many challenges after reaching the top and praised the entire team as well as coach Gary Kirsten.

"I feel extremely proud to be part of this team. To get there (to the no 1 spot) was not easy. We had to face a lot of challenges and stood together supporting each other. We had to work hard. Gary brought a remarkable change in the squad. All batsmen have performed well since 2007," Tendulkar said in an indirect dig at former coach Greg Chappell.

In fact, Tendulkar did not even mention Chappell's name when he praised the roles of the coaches and managers he worked with in the past and the list included not only Kirsten but also Chandu Borde, Lalchand Rajput, Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh.

"Kirsten when he took over had a plan and assessed the situation and it was only the process which we had to go through," he said in praise of the South African who is set to leave the job at the end of the forthcoming World Cup.

Tendulkar also conceded that his dip in form prior to what is generally described as his second innings in his remarkable career was due to the change in his back swing due to the spate of injuries for which he needed four surgeries.

"I underwent four surgeries and each one took four to four and a half months to recover which changed my back swing. But since 2007 I am feeling good and not had any major injuries," he said.

Tendulkar said age should not be a factor in determining a player's worth but only performance.

"I don't think age has anything to do with performance. I started at 16 but anybody can start at any age and finish at any age. What matters is your performance," the champion batsman said.

About completing 50 Test tons, Tendulkar said when he started his career all he heard was the magical figure of 34 Test hundreds by Sunil Gavaskar and that became his goal.

"When I reached 34 centuries I called Mr Gavaskar who was in Nepal and he congratulated me," he recalled.

Tendulkar, without referring directly to the upcoming World Cup, said at the beginning, "Yes, I want to achieve something. Everyone knows that".

He has often said in the past that being part of the winning Indian World Cup squad is his unfulfilled dream.

Virender Sehwag, who got the batsman of the year award, said that his aim was to reduce his weight before the commencement of the World Cup and he has achieved it.

Speaking about his blazing innings of 293 against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium, the Delhi dasher said he wanted to complete the triple ton on one day but had to remain unbeaten on 284.

"I never thought I could score so quickly. I was then thinking of completing 300 runs on one single day but remained 14 runs behind at close. I try to get to my hundred from 90 as quickly as I can as I feel I will get out if I go slow then," said Sehwag who compiled 670 runs in six matches for an average of 70.00.

The other award winners were: ODI Cricketer of the Year: M S Dhoni;

Bowler of the Year: Harbhajan Singh; Special achievement award for highest no of caches in Tests: Rahul Dravid; Impact cricketer: Yusuf Pathan;

Lifetime achievement in cricket award: Mohinder Amarnath; Junior Cricketer of the year award: Jaydev Unadkat.

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