My father told me not to look for shortcuts: Tendulkar

India’s World Cup Cricket victory in 1983 ignited Sachin Tendulkar’s passion for the game but how does one go about chasing a dream? In a video produced by Audemars Piguet, one of Tendulkar’s sponsors, the master batsman speaks about his journey, his dream and the defining moment. [caption id=“attachment_965893” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Tendulkar has stopped playing for India in ODIs and T20 matches now. BCCI[/caption] “I remember in 1983 we won the World Cup. It was a fantastic moment for the entire nation. I remember I didn’t understand much but just because my friends were jumping around and dancing, I joined the party. From there on, that dream of playing for India started and then obviously having that beautiful trophy in my hand,” said Tendulkar. The journey becomes a lot easier if you have the right guide. And the guide for Tendulkar was his father. “My father was a writer – he was a poet. He said whatever you want to be in life – I don’t expect you to be a poet, your passion is cricket. So in cricket, make sure, that you give your best,” said Tendulkar. “My father told me not to look for shortcuts. ‘There will be tough moments in your career but it doesn’t matter if you fail following the right path. As long as your heart tells you that today you have tried your best – that is what I expect from you.’ That is what he said,” he further added. And then the moment, it all came together. “2011 was a magnificent journey. For 5 times and 22 years I had tried it and it hadn’t worked. And the sixth time, in India, on my homeground, it worked. I don’t think it can get bigger than that. You have the entire stadium cheering for you. It made a huge difference,” he said. “Right from the age of 10 I dreamt of playing for India. And then after playing for India, the next thing was to win the World Cup. The lap of honour was awesome. All I kept telling my team-mates was that you better not drop me. Hold me tightly. It was emotional, we all cried happy tears. It was truly emotional. I started dreaming ages ago and I chased my dream. I think when you want to achieve something, it’s about not taking shortcuts.” You can watch the entire video below