Had life not blossomed on the pitch, Sachin Tendulkar - described as the 'God of cricket' - would have perhaps... Read More

Had life not blossomed on the pitch, Sachin Tendulkar - described as the 'God of cricket' - would have perhaps been busy with operations and patients at a hospital.

The cricketer, who was in the city yesterday for a private school function, revealed, "If cricket had not happened, I'd have maybe become a doctor. Now, it's difficult to imagine life without cricket. But I think I'd have been a sportsman for sure - as my second love was tennis, I'd have perhaps become a lawn tennis player."

Even as the 5000-plus students present cheered him on, the soft-spoken batsman, who was accompanied by wife Anjali , had some words of advice to offer them.

He said: "When I first played for India, my dad took me aside and asked me – You have reached a landmark, so what next? I said I'd continue to play for India. He told me that everything in life will be temporary – you can play cricket for ten, twenty years but that's still temporary. The only thing that will stay with you till your last breath is the person you are. When you play cricket, people will appreciate. But I will be happy if people appreciate you for being a good person. And I hope you 'priceless diamonds' too follow that. Don't find shortcuts - follow the right path always. In tough times, tough men last."

Sachin shares a special link with Chennai, having scored some memorable innings at the MA Chidambaram stadium . Heaping praises on the city and its sport-crazy fans, he stated, "Whenever I played cricket in Chennai, it was the most disciplined crowd. They know their cricket. I have to admit that this city knows how to back the Indian cricket team - it's not that other cities don't know - but as far as discipline is concerned, Chennai is No. 1."