Honoured to be nominated Rajya Sabha MP, but playing cricket will be my priority: Tendulkar

Pune, May 1 (ANI): Cricket star Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday said that it was an honour to be a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, but his focus would be on playing cricket for the country as long as he could.

Emphatically stating that he was a sportsman first and last, Tendulkar said he was not a politician. He said that when time permitted, he would like to contribute to the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha. He said the Rajya Sabha nomination was like a "bouncer", and was indeed an honour for him.

"This is a bouncer. It's an honour when the President nominates you, which also has other greats like Lata didi, Prithviraj Kapoor. When you get nominated because of your contribution in your field, it's an honour. I was excited to be nominated," he said at a press conference held here.

"I am not a politician, I am a sportsman. Now, I have many responsibilities," Tendulkar said.

"I would definitely like to contribute in the field of sports because that is my expertise and I will need your help," he added.

Sachin is being felicitated in Pune today for becoming the first man in the history of cricket to score 100 international centuries.

When he was asked how he handled so much of glory and criticism, Sachin said he "learnt it from his family".

"It was an unwritten rule in the house. You can't bring back what has happened, formula was just move ahead in life. Nobody would get carried away with good performances," he said.

Sachin, who also indulges in a lot of charity work, said he did not like speaking about it.

"I don't like speaking about it. I help sponsor the education of children. I feel if my children get a good education, why not help others get the same. Every individual should do charity depending on their capacity. The joy of giving could be anything," the master batsman said.

When asked about how he handled the pressure, Sachin said: "I don't think about the past or future, just the present. I look at the problems as opportunities and approach them positively."

"I try to keep the pulse rate slow. It's important to concentrate and keep your mind blank during batting," he added.

When asked about his 100 international hundred, he said it wasn't as big as winning the World Cup. "Winning the World Cup was the biggest day of my life."

He also said that the biggest match was a World Cup fixture against Pakistan in 2003.

" The buzz over this match had started in 2002. The date was fixed that on March 3 India will play Pakistan. We had to win and I had started preparing for it much before about how I had to play that match. Pakistan had the best attack at that time. Chasing a target of 274, the goal was not to lose wickets. I adopted a positive approach and it did have an effect on the opposition," he said.

"I told Viru (Sehwag) that I will face Wasim (Akram) more. Our approach was very positive. I was having cramps. I never take runner. It was for the first time that I had asked for a runner, but lost my wicket at 98." Sachin added.

India had won that match. (ANI)