'When Virat Kohli Came In': Former India Opener On How Sachin Tendulkar Aced His Fitness Level

Sehwag stated how Master Blaster used to practice for hours. He also revealed that Sachin used to look up to Kohli who is one of the fittest cricketers currently. 

Sachin Tendulkar in action.

Source : Getty

Sachin Tendulkar is regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time, having played international cricket for India for over 24 years. Back in 1989, he made his debut and played his last match in 2013. Former India opener Virender Sehwag opened the innings with Tendulkar in the majority of his career. He disclosed the reason behind Tendulkar’s 24-year-long career.

In a recent conversation, Sehwag stated how Master Blaster used to practice for hours. He also revealed that Sachin used to look up to Kohli who is one of the fittest cricketers currently. 

"Why do you think Sachin Tendulkar was able to play for so many years? It's because each year he kept thinking what new can I add to my batting or I can become better. If I can't add in the batting department, I should work my fitness in such a way that I can convert 100s into 200s. When we came in 2000s, he would concentrate on fitness more than us. Later, in 2008 when Virat Kohli came in, Sachin would compete with him. He paid more attention and focus to fitness than him," Sehwag told Ranveer Allahbadia on his YouTube channel.

Earlier, three games of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia ended within two-and-a-half days, leading to a huge criticism of pitches, but Tendulkar said it is part and parcel of cricketer's job to play on different surfaces.

"We need to understand one thing that Test cricket should be engaging and it should not be about how many days it lasts, five days or whatever. We (cricketers) are meant to play on different surfaces; be it a bouncy track, a fast track, slow track, turning track, swinging conditions, seaming conditions with different balls," opined Tendulkar on Sports Tak.

Sachin announced his retirement from international cricket back in 2013 after reading almost all the records. He is the only cricketer who has made 100 international hundreds.

The former India captain has amassed 51 centuries in Test cricket alongside making 49  hundred in the fifty-over format. Tendulkar also became the first cricketer to get a double-century in an ODI match. He has played 200 Test matches in addition to 463 ODIs and collected 15,921 and 18,426 runs in them respectively.