I battled anxiety for 10-12 years in my career: Tendulkar

New Delhi, May 16

Sachin Tendulkar today said that fought anxiety for a major part of his 24-year-old career before making peace with it. “I felt the anxiety for 10-12 years, had many sleepless nights before a game. Later on I started accepting that it was part of my preparation. Then I made peace with times I was not able to sleep in the night. I would start doing something to keep my mind comfortable,” Tendulkar said. “Over period of time I realised that besides preparing physically for a game, you have to prepare yourself mentally also. In my mind the match started long before I entered the ground. The anxiety levels were very high,” he added.

Tendulkar said not being able to sleep at night, he would do shadow-batting, watch TV and play video games in the early hours of the day. “Making tea, ironing my clothes also helped me prepare for the game. I would pack my bag the day before the game, my brother taught me all of it and it became a habit. I followed the same drill even in the last match I played for India,” said the 48-year-old.

Tendulkar said a player is bound to go through ups and downs but it is important to accept when one is feeling low. “When there is an injury, physios and doctors examine you and diagnose what is wrong with you. Same is the case with mental health. It is normal for anyone to go through ups and downs and when you hit those lows you need people around,” Tendulkar said. “Acceptability is the key here. Not just for the player, for people around him also. Once you have accepted you start looking for solutions.”

Talking about learning from “anyone”, he related an anecdote when a hotel staff member in Chennai gave him a tip. “That person got me dosa in the room and after keeping it on the table, he offered an advice. He pointed out that my elbow guard was restricting my bat swing, which was actually the case. He helped me address that issue,” Tendulkar said. — TNS, agencies