Battled anxiety for 10-12 years of my career: Sachin Tendulkar

But the pre-game quirks were important part of his preparation

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday said he battled anxiety for a major part of his 24-year-old career before realising that his pre-game quirks were an important part of his preparation. Talking about mental health, which has gained significance in the COVID times with players spending lot of time in bio-bubbles, Tendulkar said acceptability is the key. “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,” Tendulkar said in an interaction organised by Unacademy. “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. The I made peace with times I was not able to sleep in the night. I would start doing something to keep my mind comfortable.” That “something” included shadow batting, watching TV and playing video games in the wee hours of the day. Even making his morning cup of tea helped him prepare for the game.