Sachin Tendulkar Shares He Was Clueless on Test Debut

The batting legend Sachin Tendulkar recently shared that he was "clueless" on his Test debut and almost cried thinking that it was his last Test as well. However, he went on to play 200 Tests later in his cricketing career.

"I was clueless, I have to admit that. I played the first Test as if I was playing a school match," Sachin Tendulkar told Nasser Hussain during the 'Nasser meets Sachin' episode on Skysports. In his first Test in 1989, former India player played against a Pakistan pace attack comprising Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and he shared his experience.

Recalling his debut, he said, "Wasim and Waqar were bowling quick, and they were delivering short balls and all sorts of intimidating things they could do. I had never experienced anything like that, so the first outing wasn't a pleasant one.

"Occasionally, I got beaten by their pace and bounce, and when I got out on 15, I felt embarrassed when I walked back to the dressing room. I was like 'what have you done, why did you play like this' and then when I reached the dressing room, I went straight to the bathroom, and I was almost in tears."

Now he has innumerable batting records and at one point in time, he felt that he was not good enough for the game.

"I felt I was completely out of place. I looked at myself and questioned myself and said: 'looks like this is gonna be your first and the last outing'. I felt that I'm not good enough to play at this level. I was upset and feeling low," Tendulkar said.

However, he had a discussion with Ravi Shastri, who told Sachin to respect Pakistan bowlers' ability and their skill. He also said him to spend half an hour in the middle and then he would get adjusted to their pace. After that, everything would fall into place.