He’s not one for talking much to the media, and especially not for commenting on things other than bat, ball and the connection between the two. Today, though, Sachin Tendulkar dropped his guard and held forth on subjects as diverse as team unity, his injury and the BCCI’s need for a media manager. It’s not just the subjects he touched upon that made this an interesting 20 minutes; the fact that the ‘‘press conference’’ had been notified two days ago signified that Tendulkar not only wanted to talk, he wanted to be heard. Over the next few days and weeks, Tendulkar will face one of the biggest challenges of his life merely in trying to return to the standards he set for himself. ‘‘I think this is my toughest test yet. It is naturally very difficult to get back into action after a long time. It is not only tough physically, but also mentally.’’ What will make the comeback tougher is the simmering tension — or the fragile peace — in the fractious Indian dressing-room. It’s a tricky situation; as the seniormost member, and the one with no obvious alliances, he could be the unifying factor. Yet such a move would be open to a million interpretations, especially when seen through the prism of today’s exercise. In any case, Tendulkar played with a straight bat a question on whether all was well in the team. ‘‘The coach and team are together, there is unity. There might be different views in the team on the way. But this can also happen in families where each person has a different view. That does not mean that the team is divided. It is important that we find the path which will finally lead India to victory.’’ He then departed from script to speak on larger issues. Such as the need for a media manager for the team, which would benefit both players and media. ‘‘A media manager who understands the language and need of the players and that of the media must be appointed. It will help in reducing misunderstandings and also reduce the possibility of misquotes appearing in print,’’ he said. Talk then veered back to his injuries and recovery, the master bat dwelling on the number of tournaments he’d missed in the last one year, including the current Super Series. Much of that was because it seemed he’d rushed back from injury. So the first step he’s decided to take before returning to international cricket this time around is to ‘‘judge how well his elbow responds’’ when he bats in the Challenger. He says he’s comfortable enough to bat but ‘‘there’s still a slight jarring in the elbow.’’ Later, he put it down to the possibility of his body not being fully settled in shape after the long gap. There is pressure on Tendulkar now and he says it isn’t about playing international cricket once again. ‘‘I’ve done that for 16 years. The only pressure is about living up to my expectations.’’
