Tendulkar, who will complete two decades in international cricket in November, disclosed that his son did not like him leaving home frequently and wouldn’t come on phone until six years of age.
“It was tough initially because my son did not like it when I left home. For the first five-six years of his life, he did not speak to me on phone. That was difficult for me,” Tendulkar said.
“Now he (Arjun) knows what I do and he appreciates that; so that’s nice. I am a family man and they now know that I play cricket for India,” he added. Asked whether he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and become a cricketer, Tendulkar said he would not force Arjun to play the game.
“I have left that to him. He has started playing cricket and my daughter plays tennis. I don’t want to force them into cricket or tennis. It has to come from their side. Eventually, it’s their life,” he told a television channel.
The Mumbai batsman has all along been saying that he doesn’t play the game to break records, but conceded that he had one in mind while starting out and that was to surpass his idol Sunil Gavaskar’s 35 Test hundreds. “Records are mere records of what I have contributed for the country. While playing, if records are broken it’s great.” Tendulkar said.