Missed India's 2011 World Cup winning moment, reveals Sachin Tendulkar

New Delhi: They may say, sports is not all about winning, or losing. But every now and then, there are legends and heroes talking about their fear of losing a game or a bout. Probably, each one of them are human too – who loves to win. And to achieve such an end, they did things considered too childish, like following a ritual or practicing routines which may well be described as superstitious.

Sachin Tendulkar and him wearing left pad first every-time he went out to bat are every cricket fans anecdote. But the batting maestro revealed another innocuous bit during the launch of his much anticipated autobiography on Wednesday.

Having achieved unparalleled success with the bat, Tendulkar's status as the greatest batsman somewhat looked hollow without a World Cup trophy in his cabinet. It came to fruition in 2011, with India beating Sri Lanka in the final, a summit clash made memorable by skipper MS Dhoni's title winning six.

But, unluckily for Tendulkar, he missed the winning moment. Speaking at the launch of his autobiography in Mumbai, the 41-year-old admitted that he couldn't watched the finals moments because of superstition.

He said, “I was not watching it live even though I was inside the stadium." He added, "I was a little superstitious because when we were playing Australia in Ahmedabad, I was not watching - I'd put my head down on the massage table and was being attended to by the team physiotherapist. Viru had been sitting next to me. So I continued that in the World Cup final.”

Tendulkar also mentioned this anecdote and many others including the controversy ridden Greg Chappell stint as India coach in his autobiography “Playing It My Way”. The book grabbed headlines even before its launch with the Master Blaster calling the Chappell a "ringmaster."

With agency inputs