Tendulkar terms 2011 WC win as 'best cricketing day' of his life

New Delhi [India], May 16 (ANI): Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday termed the winning of the 2011 World Cup as the "best cricketing day of his life" as his biggest dream came true.
India had defeated Sri Lanka in the finals of 2011 World Cup to lift their second 50-over World Cup title and this year, 10th anniversary of the feat was celebrated. In the tournament, Tendulkar had scored centuries against England and South Africa.
"When I saw Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup in 1983, it was an unbelievable experience, I enjoyed it with my friends and I wanted to chase my dream. I decided what may come, I have to focus and chase my dream of lifting the World Cup. In Mumbai at Wankhede, it was just unbelievable, it was the best cricketing day of life. How many times you have the country celebrate, many few things are there which the entire country celebrates," said Tendulkar during Unacademy's session aiming at Lessons in Resilience, Passion, Preparation, Innovation and more.
"The victory lap had one incident, when Virat and Yusuf Pathan lifted me, I told them to ensure that I do not fall down. It was not just the Indian team that won the World Cup, it was the entire nation, it is all of us who did it," he added.
Earlier this year, Tendulkar tested positive for COVID-19 and he even had to be admitted to a hospital. India has been reporting more than 3,00,000 cases off late and these are challenging times for the country.
Talking about COVID-19, Tendulkar said: "I think it is a difficult time for all of us, these are unprecedented times and all I can say is from my first-hand experience, the entire medical fraternity, I cannot thank them enough. How they have stayed committed to saving lives, helping so many people, and nobody has complained. Nobody has said that today we do not feel like working, they are saving lives. A big thankyou to all of them."
"To my friends and family, when I was diagnosed with COVID-19, they kept me in that positive frame of mind. It is a challenging time for everyone, but we have to stay positive and help each other. My message for everyone will be to follow the new normal, washing your hands, making sure you maintain a certain level of hygiene and also to maintain social distancing," he added.
The Master Blaster also stressed on the importance of addressing mental health and not taking it lightly at any moment.
"Yes, there are a number of mental challenges that people face. When there are physical challenges, there are physios and doctors and they help you what's wrong and this is the reason with mental health as well. It is normal for anyone to go through ups and downs. When you hit those lows, you need people around you to help you get back up again. You need to accept that there is something wrong, it is not just for that particular, it is for people around also. Once we have accepted that, then you start looking for solutions," said Tendulkar. (ANI)