'Medical emergency in family' led to Sachin Tendulkar's absence from Rajya Sabha

Sachin Tendulkar said the medical issue of his brother led to his absence from Rajya Sabha this year

Criticised for his absence from Rajya Sabha this year, Sachin Tendulkar revealed today that a medical emergency in his family kept him from attending Parliament.

“My absence in Delhi has been discussed rather too much. I don’t mean to disrespect any institution,” he said in a function today at Vigyan Bhavan in the capital.

The 41-year-old retired cricketer said his brother Ajit Tendulkar had undergone a bypass surgery due to which he couldn’t be present in Rajya Sabha.

“There was a medical emergency in my family, certain things I want to keep it private. But just to let you know, my elder brother Ajit had to undergo a bypass surgery and I had to be by his side,” he said, according to a PTI report.

Earlier today, Sachin thanked his fans on Twitter for the prayers and good wishes for Ajit:

A big thank you to all my friends for their prayers n good wishes. My brother Ajit is recovering well after undergoing a bypass surgery.

— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 8, 2014

During Sachin’s illustrious career, spanning over two decades, Ajit played a huge role of a mentor cum critique. (Read – Figments of Imagination: A page from Ajit Tendulkar’s diary)

In his farewell speech at Wankhede Stadium in November 2013, after his last international match, Sachin acknowledged his brother’s role in his success, recalling how the duo would animatedly chat about cricket.

Over the past few days, Sachin was under attack from many MPs as well as media after not having attended a single session in Rajya Sabha this year. In an inderect response to these attacks, Sachin said “They are discussing everything about you in the media but I think you should be focussed on your job and nothing else.”

The ex-cricketer was attending the function, organised by the Sports Ministry, to address the Commonwealth Games medal winners. India finished 5th at the Games, collecting 64 medals in total, including 15 Gold, at Glasgow.

“I feel happy about my presence in Delhi,” he said.

In his address to the athletes, Sachin recalled the words of wisdom from his late father.

“My father once told me that there will be a lot of arms that will try to pull you down but as long as you stay in the right direction you will see that at one point of time you have gone beyond them. They will join hands to praise you.”

“Not always everyone will like you. There will be obstructions but the energy should always be focussed on doing the right things and not get distracted,” he added.

“As sportspersons, your performance will be analysed and criticised. But one thing that outsiders can’t judge is the satisfaction that you will get when you give your 100 per cent. If you give 100 per cent and still the opposition team wins, you should not feel bad about it.

“I think it is important to accept everything with humility. Stay humble and stay grounded. Try to achieve more for India and we will all be behind you,” he told the medal winners.