It was Ajit Wadekar and my decision to make Sachin Tendulkar open, reveals Mohammad Azharuddin

It was on the 27th of March in 1994. All seemed normal at the Eden Park in Auckland for the second of four ODIs. The Kiwis were looking to take an unassailable 2-0 lead, while the Indians looked to draw level. The visiting bowlers did their job and bundled out the hosts for just 142. What followed, although wasn’t entirely surprising, was absolute carnage from a blade of a 21-year-old Sachin. Promoted to open the innings for the first time, the Little Master smashed 82 runs off just 49 balls, with 15 fours and two sixes, to seal India’s win.

“I had been noticing that nothing big was happening with Sachin even though he was batting well at No. 5 and 6. We (Wadekar sir and I) talked about this and decided to let Sachin open after regular opener Sidhu (Navjot Singh) was unwell,” Azhar told The Hindu in an exclusive chat on Friday.

Azharuddin had paved the way for history itself to be scripted. Although the 57-year-old has shared many-a-memorable moments with Sachin over the years, he has no interest in taking credit for how Sachin’s career peaked from then on.

“Importantly, Sachin also wanted to open and we are glad that he went on to become one of the greatest batsmen of all-time. I can’t take pride for his achievements. In fact, nobody can. He had the talent to go places. I won’t say I was surprised by his response, I knew Sachin had the talent. He just needed that opportunity to showcase his abundance of talent. He is an attacking batsman and with the field restrictions on, we thought once he gets going half the job is done for the team,” Azhar added.