Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar attended the unveiling of the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) on Wednesday in Mumbai.
While speaking at the event, Tendulkar recalled about the time when he used to play 'gully' cricket when he was young.
Tendulkar said that he always believed that he could handle "10-12 years older" when he used to take part in street cricket. He added that after playing a few junior-level matches, the right-handed batter was invited to play for his brother's group.
The 50-year-old further added that that's when he realised that he was one step ahead of his street cricket partners and later they wanted to follow in his footsteps.
"I always believed that they were 10-12 years older than me but I can manage. After having played some junior-level matches, in my age group I was one of the main batters and scored runs. I was invited to play with my brother's group and that was when I batted and came and joined my friends naturally I felt proud. That's when I felt I was one step ahead of my friends since I have already played with the seniors. So, they wanted to follow in my footsteps," Tendulkar said during the event.
He added that when he was young playing street cricket, appearing for India did not enter his mind.
Tendulkar revealed that he started playing cricket with a tennis ball. He further added that his 24 years of international cricket started with a tennis ball.
"The beauty was that time playing for India all that did not enter our mind since season ball cricket did not start at that time. But playing cricket starts with the tennis ball, it is passion and love for the game that takes you there. 24 years of international cricket, it was a beautiful journey but the start happened with a tennis ball," he concluded.
(ANI)