‘Sweeping at dinner’: Navjot Singh Sidhu recalls Sachin Tendulkar’s obsession with fixing weakness against spin

India’s chastening Test series defeat against South Africa was marked by a worrying inability of the home batters to play spin.

The Indian lineup struggled against the Proteas spinners, led by off-spinner Simon Harmer, who finished with 17 wickets at a scarcely believable average of 8.94.

Speaking to Sportstar on India’s frailties against spin, former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu recalled how batting legend Sachin Tendulkar once responded to a similar weakness by force-fitting the sweep shot into his game.

“He was tied down by Sanath Jayasuriya in a Test match where I was batting at the non-striker’s end. He kept bowling outside the leg stump. Tendulkar got frustrated, tried to pull, and got out because he did not know how to sweep,” Sidhu said.

“He was sitting in the dressing room after the game. Everybody had left, but he was still there. Ajit Wadekar sir, the then team manager, asked me to get him into the team bus. I went up to him, and he said, ‘ Aisa nahi chalega.’ I replied, ‘Kya ho gaya, ek out hi hua, koi chakkar nahi hai. He was bowling negative, don’t worry.’”

Sidhu’s words, however, had no effect on a determined Tendulkar.

“He called up 10 spinners, all left-armers, from Chandigarh. He reached the ground at seven in the morning and was just sweeping, sweeping, sweeping. I had never seen him sweep before,” Sidhu recalled.

The obsession soon spilled into Tendulkar’s everyday life.

India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu share a joke during a practice session on the eve of the Coca Cola Triangular series One Day International cricket match between India and Kenya in Gwalior on May 27, 1998.
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The Hindu Archive

“There was an incident during dinner. I was there, Sanjay [Manjrekar] was there, [Ajay]Jadeja was there. And with his fork, Sachin was doing this,” Sidhu said, imitating a sweep shot.

Sidhu offered Tendulkar’s example as a reference point for the current generation of Indian batters.

“That’s called living one idea, breathing one idea, sleeping one idea. That’s commitment. Cricket was Tendulkar’s life. Getting out like that was a blow to his self-esteem. And what hurts your pride should hurt,” he said.

“India losing at home should hurt too. But it’s not about just wanting to return to where you were. It’s about finding the means to get there. If you take care of the means, the goal takes care of itself. And the means are exactly what I’ve spoken about.”

Published on Dec 10, 2025