Dilip Vengsarkar

Calcutta: Former India captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, who is in the city on a private visit, spoke to The Telegraph on Thursday afternoon. Incidentally, he’s recently been appointed chairman of the Board’s cricket development committee.

The following are excerpts

India’s 2-0 Test series win over Australia...

Terrific... Ideally, I would’ve liked at least a three-Test series, but I’m not complaining... A sweep is a sweep... I particularly liked the way Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara accepted the challenge in Bangalore... The seniors, of course, contributed in both Tests. Overall, an outstanding performance in Mohali and in Bangalore.

Thoughts on the MoS, Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin’s hunger and passion remains very high... I’d say he’s been at his peak for all 21 years of his India career... I hope he’ll be serving the country for some years more.

Having presented a bat to Sachin even before he’d played for Mumbai

(Laughs) Yes, I gifted him a Gunn & Moore... I think that was after he’d been picked for the Bombay U-15s. I’d heard a lot about Sachin and saw him at nets.

Sachin’s reaction

Understandably, he was quite thrilled, but being shy, didn’t really express himself... As a person, he’s still quite shy.

Whether an established India cricketer gave him a bat when he was trying to make an impact

Oh, yes... (Sunil) Gavaskar presented me a Duncan Fearnley after my century for Bombay, in the 1975-76 Irani Trophy, in Nagpur... That innings proved to be a turning point in my career.

A little-known fact about Sachin

Talent apart, what stood out was his strength... I remember that except Salil Ankola, Sachin would beat everybody in panjaa! Being ambidextrous, he’d win both with the right and left hands.

Sachin the person

Despite being so successful, he hasn’t changed one bit... Sachin remains humble and so grounded. That has to be appreciated.

His take on Sachin the cricketer

Sachin has always been supremely confident of his abilities... I recall being the Bombay captain in his debut season (1988-89) in the Ranji Trophy... We were playing Hyderabad and, on the day in question, I decided to protect Sachin and sent Kiran Mokashi as the nightwatchman... We’d already lost some wickets and Mokashi, too, got out... Sachin didn’t tell me, but told somebody else that an extra wicket (of Mokashi) had been lost unnecessarily and that he could’ve played out the remaining overs... He was only 15 then, but so high on confidence. The next day, on a turner, he played Arshad Ayub, Venkatapathi Raju and Kanwaljeet Singh beautifully... I knew we had somebody special in our midst.

Message for Sachin

(Laughs) Just keep playing.

Thoughts on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who got the India captaincy for the first time when he was the chief selector

Well, we stand vindicated... From the beginning, I’ve been impressed with Dhoni’s calmness, his quiet confidence and his body language... He’s the positive sort... I don’t need to emphasise that he’s been doing such a good job.

Team India’s biggest challenge

To be consistent.

Finally, whether Rahul Dravid should review where he stands...

Dravid’s been around for 14-15 years... He’ll know what to do... Having been there for so long, he’s the best judge (of the situation)... It’s not for me to offer advice.