India’s legend Sachin Tendulkar has finally reacted to the much-discussed Under-19 World Cup final controversy. After the completion of the game, the players of both the teams got engaged in verbal abuse, and some even indulged in pushing on the field.
Tendulkar said that being vocal and saying foul things is not aggression, and one should be able to control emotions as the whole world looks up to players in these big competitions.
“One can only make an effort to teach individuals, but then a lot depends on the character of an individual. In a crunch moment, one should be able to control certain things and not forget that the whole world is looking up to you. They are following certain things. So, I think those are the moments where controlled aggression helps. One needs to be aggressive, but being vocal and saying foul things doesn’t mean that you are aggressive,” Tendulkar said in an interview as quoted by Hindustan Times.
The highest run-scorer in international cricket said one should show aggression with the performance, which eventually helps the team.
“Aggression should be in your game, the way you bat or bowl—that aggression which helps the team and not goes against it,” the 46-year-old added.
Following the incident, five players—Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi (from India) and Md Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Rakibul Hasan (from Bangladesh)— were sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The batting phenom expressed that players should not cross the line in the attempt to win the contest. Tendulkar gave an example of Tennis legend Roger Federer and said the latter is also aggressive but doesn’t lose the spirit of the game in order to win any match.
“Everyone is aggressive. If somebody doesn’t say anything or if somebody doesn’t do anything, it doesn’t mean that he is not aggressive. We all want to go out and win. There is a method to do that. You can’t cross the line. Like me, the rest of the guys also want to win, and those are the things one should keep in mind. Are you trying to be tell me that Roger Federer is not aggressive? That he doesn’t want to win? He wants to win every point, but the body language, what he says, and the mannerism really matters. That is really setting the example,” Tendulkar added further.
