‘God of cricket’, Sachin Tendulkar begins his new innings on LinkedIn

Legendary cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar today joined LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network on the internet as an influencer. The only man to have scored 100 international centuries, Sachin has inspired generations of cricketers and fans and continues to promote the sport in his second innings.

As a LinkedIn influencer, Tendulkar will join a select group that includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, global icon Priyanka Chopra, politician Shashi Tharoor and distinguished business leaders such as Bill Gates, Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group; Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO, Thrive Global; Jack Welch, Executive Chairman, The Jack Welch Management Institute; Deepak Chopra MD Founder, Chopra Foundation; Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist, Canva and Oprah Winfrey, Chairman and CEO, Oprah Winfrey Network, among others.

Speaking on this association, Sachin said, “I am continuing the process of learning and have enjoyed gaining insightful experiences off the field in recent times. These experiences have distinctly been different from the ones during my days in international cricket.

Extra Cover: Sachin Tendulkar-branded smartphones soon to be launched

“Being a part of a team and learning from each other has been an integral part of my development. I face multiple situations in organisations that I am involved with where my on-field learnings often benefit these organisations. My aim is to share these experiences on a platform, like LinkedIn, to reach a large number of professionals and entrepreneurs to give them get a different perspective and help better their everyday performance.”

“We are delighted that Sachin Tendulkar is now a LinkedIn influencer. Mr Tendulkar, with his success in sports and in business adds to the growing cast of iconic Indian influencers, ultimately helping to inspire our more than 467 million members worldwide to achieve higher heights in their careers,” said Akshay Kothari, Country Manager, LinkedIn India.

In an exclusive interview with LinkedIn, the Master Blaster shared his thoughts on:

Realising one's dreams – “...It’s important to be fearless. Don’t worry about failures. Sometimes failures stop you from attempting something new and you never know till the time you make an attempt… So go out and chase your dreams, because dreams do come true.”

Preparing for success – “…Preparation starts early. You need to be mentally prepared for whatever you do. With me, my preparation started with packing my bag. I would start my preparation with ironing my clothes. I would iron them myself because it got me in the right zone. My subconscious mind switched on from there.”

Getting back in the game – “…I still remember when I had my tennis elbow surgery, after three and a half months I went out to practice, I was told it would take four and half months or so for recovery, don’t rush. But, sportsmen are known to be impatient... I thought my career was over. Those are the moments when you need a solid team around you, doctors, physios, masseurs, trainers, your family members, close friends.”

Learning is a never-ending journey - “...I’m already involved in technology, health and wellness, lifestyle and clothing. I have my own brand, sports goods manufacturing company… I started designing sporting equipment; started sharing my ideas with the equipment manufacturers and they would share their ideas too. We are learning from each other and as long as we continue to do that, we continue to get better in life. That’s what I want to do.”

‘Swasth Bharat, not just swachh Bharat’ – “...’Sports for All’ is my vision, my dream. India has been ranked as the diabetes capital of the world and that doesn’t say much about our health. We need to pay more attention to our health, get fitter, get healthier. I urge every Indian to make any one sport a part of their fitness regime. You need not play the sport at a competitive level, but for fun and burn some calories.”