Sachin: A Billion Dreams - Items and facts revealed about Sachin Tendulkar's kit bag
Sachin Tendulkar. The man who used to stop a nation of a 1.3 billion people when he used to bat. The man who was never just a legend of the game. The man who in reality was a cult in itself. The man on whose dismissal, millions of people switched their television sets off. This analogy can go on and on but what Tendulkar means to this nation can never be explained in words.
So it was natural when a docudrama on Sachin's life was released a couple of days ago named Sachin: A Billion Dreams, India would go crazy for a man who they worshipped for more than two decades.
James Erskine - the director of the film did a commendable job on reflecting a journey so long and so vivid of the great man in just 138 minutes. It was no mean feat as the Emmy Award nominee had his toughest job on hand.
The film mainly features all the achievements of Sachin narrated by the man himself right from his first Test against Pakistan in Pakistan to his last test game on his home turf in Mumbai. His relationship with his wife, Anjali is beautifully depicted along with some innocent moments of Sachin the father with his kids, Sara and Arjun.
Sachin's quality time with his friends and family also form a crucial part of the movie as the documentary offers the viewers or more correctly, his disciples a never found a closer look into their God’s life.
One thing which caught my eye was when Sachin shows his kit bag which has been with him since he began his international career. That bag has seen the best and the worst of a player who has ruled the hearts and the scoring charts for years.
Tendulkar and his kit bag are a pious combination like none other as on that note, let's delve right into the revelations made in the movie about the items that are present in Sachin Tendulkar's famous kit bag:
- The first and the most obvious items in the kit bag are Sachin's bats, pads, gloves and pair of shoes. He also talks about the issue concerning about his bat's weight throughout his career for which he says that he was never concerned about as he chose to concentrate mainly on the wood.
- There is a photo of Lord Ganesh of whom Sachin is a devout disciple along with a picture of Satya Sai Baba - a Saint from Maharashtra. His family were devotees of him since decades. There is also a drawing of the tricolour which is drawn by his children - Sara and Arjun. It is inscribed with the words "All The Best. From Mama, Sara, Arjun."
- Sachin also reveals a separate bag of grips which he uses for his favourite bats. He also has a small bag which consists of sandpaper, glue and all the other types of equipment required to mend bats before/after a game. Tendulkar also reveals that he was the team's go-to guy in sharpening the stroke of the bat and mending it to perfection. Sachin said that his teammates would come to him with their bats and he would repair them overnight.
- He reveals a special thigh pad which is specially designed by the batsman himself with the protective pad having layers of coating which gave him extra cushioning on his legs. Sachin also had a special made left-hand glove which had an extra layer on the index finger which was made with an intention of lessening the blow on his left hand.