There is always a question that springs in the mind of younger players: how to become a great player? The best answer is always the same and it comes from the greatest players of all time: discipline. And Sachin Tendulkar is from the same school of thought.

Speaking to Times of India in an exclusive interview, the greatest ODI batsman of all time stated that discipline is the “key” for a batsman to do well on difficult conditions. He stated that while footwork is a key component for a batsman to play well, the mind plays the most crucial role in setting it free.  

“Discipline. That's the key. And then it's about footwork, but footwork is more about the mind. If the mind is free, then the feet are free. These are two important aspects.

“A lot depends on what state of mind you are in, whether you're complicating things inside your mind or just keeping it simple.”

Sachin also opined that different batsmen have different way of making things work, but the basic is always to be in the proper state of mind.

“Whatever works, as long as you're in the right frame. And discipline, which has to come from within. It has to come instinctively and learn what to play, what to leave.

“What works for one may work differently for another. I'd leave that to the individual.”

There is a tendency of batsmen to play the away swing with an extending bat, often losing their wickets in the process by edging it to the slip. When asked about how to control that urge, Sachin responded that having the correct frame of mind helps the player.

According to him, settling down to that tempo is important as the motive of the bowler is to always make the batsmen play away from his body. The Master Blaster gave a brilliant insight on what happens when the hands remain close to the body and the difference when they don’t.

“There's a secret to this [to control the urge]: A good batsman will always see to it that his hands are close to him. And a good bowler will always see to it that he gets the batsman to move his hands away from the body.

“Both exactly work the opposite of each other and that's where the plotting begins. The closer your hands remain to your body will mean you're using your feet, which in turn is what your mind is telling you, to move closer in line of the ball.

“If the feet don't move, but the batsman tries to move in line with the ball, then the upper body begins to compensate for that movement. That's where it gets tricky. How you settle down into that rhythm is the key.”

Asked whether or not it was actually more instinctive than anything else, he stated that “it is instinctive.” The legendary batsmen enthused that there is no set rules that one could follow in order to confront situations like these, using his own batting style in 2011 Cape Town as an example.

“There's no set formula to go about. Of course, there are some basics which are set. But that aside, on a particular day, if you're feeling good about a certain aspect of play, you should feel free to go ahead and do that.

“For instance, in 2011 in Cape Town, I knew that I had to restrain myself from playing on the rise. It was instinctive. It's about what your mind tells your feet, how you move your feet, and in turn, how much it demands from your upper body.