I don’t exactly remember when but it was sometime during the mid-90s. I was watching a game on television when my younger son, who had just started discovering the joys of cricket, posed a hundred questions a day. Sachin Tendulkar was in full flow and I casually remarked that I was his first captain.

Disbelief filled the air and it took a lot of convincing on my part to make my son believe that I was indeed the skipper of the Indian team when Sachin made his debut!

None can change that record. Along with winning the World Cup, playing in the same team with Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and my idol G.R. Viswanath, the pride of having led Sachin in Pakistan will remain my most cherished moments on the field.

To be honest I was not surprised at Sachin’s selection for the tour of Pakistan. We were playing New Zealand in Bombay when Dilip Vengsarkar brought a 15-year-old to the nets and requested us to have a look at the prodigious talent. If my memory serves me right, it was Ravi Shastri, Kapil Dev and I who were present on that day and all of us were straightaway impressed with what we saw.

Kapil also peppered the youngster with a few bouncers and they were handled with poise. I knew then that it was only going to be a matter of time before Sachin would make it to the Indian team.

He was not even 16 then and his brother had to accompany him, according to BCCI rules. Sachin was extremely shy when we landed in Pakistan. But what struck me was his ability to read the game. I have read that Sachin thought his Test debut would also be his last but believe me I did go to his room and promise him that he would play all the four Tests irrespective of the returns. The youngster required that confidence from the team management. All along I knew the right candidate was backed. His talent was too immense to be missed.

At the end of the testing two-month period in Pakistan I think Sachin had well and truly arrived. We actually got to see both sides of the youngster. One a batsman straight from the Mumbai school of batting, technically sound and putting a huge price tag on his wicket and another who cared nothing for bowlers’ reputations.

After receiving a blow on his face in Sialkot he continued to bat on. At that stage of the game it was important for him to continue and for him to show that kind of courage was indescribable. He put the interest of the team ahead and till date, that has not changed. The incident lifted the entire dressing room.

And who can forget the four sixes off Abdul Qadir? Each shot was played against the turn and to be on the non-striker’s end was a privilege. I have had my success against Qadir but he was a crafty spinner and for a greenhorn to hit him consistently was a huge achievement. I personally felt that knock gave Sachin a lot of confidence.

I was also lucky to see his best Test hundred till date. The game at Perth turned out to be my last Test. Without doubt it is one of the best innings I have ever seen. It was very close in class and execution to G.R. Viswanath’s 97 at Chepauk. For a short batsman to get on top of the ball and drive was amazing. Sachin’s back foot punches against the ball that got big were special. He enjoys the game the same way he did 20 years ago. And the standout factor is the way he has handled pressure and conducted impeccably on and off the field.

K. Srikkanth is chairman of selectors and Tendulkar’s first captain

(As told to V. Balaji)