Straight Answers

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Sachin Tendulkar</span> Cricket icon on being a team player on and off the field:<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">How do you feel sharing a platform with newcomers for brands that you have long endorsed?</span><br />Endorsements are an open turf and as such I don''t focus on them.They just come with the territory and I am happy if my team members _ new or seasoned _ do well. And it doesn''t matter if we share them. It is on the field that I leave no stone unturned for that extra run, or that crucial wicket. <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Is there a feeling of insecurity?</span><br />Me, insecure? Not at all. I don''t pit myself against my own team members. Whether it is I who contribute or anyone else, if we win, we all share the victory as a team. Be it Sourav or Dravid or anyone else who plays well, I always backslap the colleague. We are a team and as a team we are all there for each other.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Who among the current young crop is your favourite?</span><br />I wouldn''t pick a favourite. I motivate all of them. I would want each to blossom and contribute to the team. <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">People draw parallels between you and Sehwag, what do you think of him?</span><br />We are all proud of his performance. He''s promising and talented, and today we know what he''s capable of. I appreciate his abilities and wish him well. I hope he does well in the future. <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Sehwag claims to emulate you on field. Do you see yourself in him?</span><br />I can''t see myself when I play, so I can''t really compare. But I have observed Sehwag. Yes, he does remind me of my younger days.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Cricket apart, how''s your restaurant, Tendulkar''s, doing?</span><br />The response has been excellent and I am thrilled. I was there myself last afternoon. The restaurant is all me, my favourite food and music, and people have taken to it which feels good. We are now planning something new both in the dining and the bar area which I am sure people will find exciting. </div> </div>