Dressing room discussions should remain within team: Tendulkar

With the storm over a reported rift in the Indian cricket team settled, senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar today said dressing room discussions should remain in the confines of the dressing room only.

Tendulkar's comments came after the Indian team was embroiled in a major row during the tour of Australia when reports emerged that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and opener Virender Sehwag were at loggerheads over the issue of rotating senior players in the team.
The differences between the two were out in the open when Sehwag claimed ignorance of Dhoni's stated policy of rotating senior players to keep up the fielding standards during the ODI tri-series Down Under.

Tendulkar refrained from commenting on the controversial policy, stating that team discussions are not meant for public consumption.

"I think every individual thinks differently. 10 people will have 10 different opinions. I think team discussions should be within the team," Tendulkar told reporters here.

"The talk about the rotational policy, I did not follow that press conference (by Dhoni and Sehwag). I don't keep in touch with that. I need to know what the intentions because I wouldn't want to make loose statements. You have to ask the people who made those comments, what their intentions were," he said.

Talking about the state of cricket and sports in general in India, Tendulkar said the scene is getting better.

"In my case I was fortunate that my coach made me play lot of practice matches which improved my match temperament. I learnt that no matter how much you bat in the nets, match situation practice is very important.

"I think the BCCI's National Cricket Academy is very good and it is getting better. I feel other sports are undergoing changes but I can't say how good their facilities are because I haven't followed them. And the things I am not aware of, I don't want to make loose statements. In cricket, we are going good but we can always get better," he said.
In the middle of the press conference today, Tendulkar was asked for tips by a young admirer and the batsman obliged.

"My only tip to you is to chase your dream. If you want to play for India, chase it. Don't find shortcuts. Just enjoy the game, have a big heart and enjoy life," he said.