Sachin Tendulkar got emotional: Ali Bacher

Former SA board chief Dr Ali Bacher says Tendulkar was not very comfortable during his recent interview with him

Former SA board chief Dr Ali Bacher says Tendulkar was not very comfortable during his recent interview with him

Dr Ali Bacher believes the shockwaves in the Indian media caused by his recent interview with Sachin Tendulkar are 'uncalled for'.u00a0

Skipper Sachin Tendulkar looks dejected during a CB series match against Australia in Adelaide in 2000. The Indian batting ace admitted in a recent interview that he was not in the right frame of mind during the series after the match-fixing episode. Pic/Getty Images

During the interview, the former South African cricket chief kept shooting questions at Tendulkar such as ufffd "Did any bookies ever approach you? Were you aware of your teammates' involvement in fixing?" and so on.

And Tendulkar replied with a strong "No" every time.

"It's a little shocking that the Indian media have blown this out of proportion even before having a look at the interview. I asked him (Sachin) if he had ever been approached by a bookie and if he was aware of any of his teammates' involvement in fixing. In fact, he tried to divert the topic of fixing every now and again," Bacher told MiD DAY.

"He was upfront in denying these things, and yes, he did seem a little emotional while answering the questions about fixing, but some of the stuff that is being circulated at the moment is untrue.

"Yes, he did say that it hurt him that spectators had started to look at cricketers with a suspicious eye, but he was looking at things from a positive sense, saying that the team recovered beautifully from the whole crisis, and won the faith of the people," added Bacher.

"There was one thing he clearly said ufffd he felt India's 2-1 series victory against Australia in 2001-02 redeemed the spirits of the team after the fixing saga. He also praised Sourav Ganguly's captaincy and said the team's morale was really high after the win," concluded Bacher.

Bacher also revealed that cricket officials in South Africa were approached by bookmakers in the late 1990s and were asked to take offers on behalf of players. However, these approaches were brushed under the carpet. Bacher said he raised the issue during team meetings, but was asked to present
evidence.