Sachin Tendulkar calls the 1990s 'one of the darkest phases' in Indian cricket

Sachin Tendulkar during India’s training session on the eve of their 1999 World Cup match v England at Edgbaston. Pic/Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar was undeniably the world's finest batsman of the 1990s in both formats of the game - 5,626 runs in 69 Tests and 8,571 runs in 228 ODIs. But ask him about a phase when things could have panned out differently than they actually did, and he says the 1990s.

‘Everything operated differently'

In an interview in the build-up to his 50th birthday, which he celebrates today, Tendulkar told mid-day: "The 1990s could have been different for sure. But everything operated differently at that stage. That was also, I felt, possibly one of the darkest phases in Indian cricket," said Tendulkar.

It was in the 1990s that Tendulkar became captain of India [1996]. He led India to victory in the inaugural Border-Gavaskar Trophy one-off Test at New Delhi and followed up that triumph with a 2-1 home series win to South Africa. But India lost 0-2 in the return series in SA and then came the highly forgettable West Indies tour which witnessed series defeats in Tests and one-dayers.

A plethora of ODI defeats to reigning world champions Sri Lanka coincided with that phase, but the high points would have to be the 1997 Sahara Series in Toronto where India swept Pakistan away with Tendulkar in charge. The following year Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly scored hundreds in the Akai Nidahas Trophy final which resulted in Sri Lanka being conquered.

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Coincided with fixing controversy

The late 1990s also witnessed the match fixing controversy. When asked if he was referring to that controversy, Tendulkar remarked: "…And the way it coincided… multiple matches that we played and [lost]. The intention is not to point fingers at anyone but if something possibly needed to be different that's the phase."