Interestingly, Tendulkar makes sure to keep a track of all Mumbai players and their performances through the year. Nineteen-year-old pacer Dhawal Kulkarni was shocked when Tendulkar spelled out the figures of his last outing. “He knows everything about each player. Today when I met him he told me ‘good show, nice to see that you are progressing day by day. Try to maintain it, you will do well again’,” informed Dhawal.

“That’s why he’s a master,” adds wicket-keeper Vinayak Samant. “He loves the game so much and wants to share his thoughts with everybody. He is so approachable.”

Mumbai are now hoping to see Tendulkar playing in the Ranji Trophy. “The only good thing to have happened from the blast is that now every state can have the services of their star players. Let’s see if Tendulkar can join us and I will also talk to Zaheer. Things will be clear once we know whether the Test matches are happening or not,” said Jaffer.

Laxman, Ojha to miss tie

VVS Laxman and Pragyan Ojha will miss the tie against Mumbai after they were ruled out due to injury. Laxman suffered a heel injury during his double hundred against Delhi while Ojha hurt his shoulder.

Hyderabad coach Kanwaljit Singh confirmed their absence. “Laxman experienced a shooting pain in his right heel when he batted in the last match against Delhi and had a runner too for the last fifty runs that he scored. He’s not in a position to play and has pulled out after being named in the team.”

... contd.