On Tuesday, senior-most pro Sachin Tendulkar completes 22 years as an international cricketer. On the eve of turning ‘22’, he spoke to The Telegraph at Taj Bengal.

The following are excerpts

Q Do you have to be reminded about November 15, or...

A (Laughs) I do need a bit of reminding!

Twenty-two years of international cricket is just awesome. How do you look back on this journey?

I can’t help but repeat myself... It has been a good journey, a very satisfying one. I don’t have complaints.

Do you recall much about your first day as a Test cricketer, at the National Stadium in Karachi?

Not much, to be honest. What I do remember is that I’d been restless the previous night... That experience remains special, for I’d been waiting for that day and, then, there it was. Feels special when a dream gets realised and, don’t forget, I was only 16.

You have nothing left to prove. What, then, challenges you?

I didn’t set out to prove anything to anybody... The challenge is to keep contributing to the team... For me, cricket is about enjoyment, not proving anything... If you don’t enjoy, then you’ll start to look at the game differently.

Clearly, your hunger for runs has been extraordinary. Do goals drive you or is it something else?

No, goals don’t drive me... I don’t set out to do this or that.

Is there one record that you hold more dear than the others?

Two, in fact... Getting to 50 Test hundreds (in Centurion, last December) and getting past 15,000 Test runs (at the Kotla, last week)... They’re at the top of my personal list.

Do you get bugged when people keep raising the 100th international hundred bit?

I don’t, because that hundred isn’t my focus. It’s not that I’m only looking at getting it.

How do you handle this enormous pressure, the kind which probably isn’t there on any other sportsman?

(Sounds amused) Don’t know... I just go out and play.

So, there’s no secret as such?

There isn’t.

What’s the hand played by destiny?

I believe in preparing myself in a professional manner and, then, whatever has to happen will happen... You don’t leave everything to be decided by destiny.

You’ve finally become a World Cup winner... Seven months after our win, what are your thoughts?

Still get excited... It will remain a huge achievement for all time to come.

Today, at the age of 38, is staying fit the toughest challenge?

Indeed, yes.

What must young batsmen not do?

Must not lose sight of their priorities... Also, if they have a dream, they must chase it... I’ve said this many times.

As a national icon, what’s your message to Indians?

Being a cricketer, I’ll confine myself to the game... Fellow-Indians should keep following it, remain passionate and keep giving us the respect they give.

Is education one of your non-sport passions now?

(Passionately) Absolutely... I feel very strongly about the girl child being educated in rural India... There’s a need not just for proper schools, but schools with basic facilities like toilets... Often, there are no toilets and, coupled with the distances, that leads to innumerable girls never going back to school... Recently, I did a programme with Coca-Cola and NDTV and we raised funds to build 140 schools in the rural areas. That’s a beginning... Women are the backbone of any family and, if they’re educated, they’ll be a bigger asset not just for their respective families, but the nation as a whole.

Given a chance to relive the 22 years, would you do anything differently?

No, I’m happy with the way the script has unfolded... Wouldn’t want to change things.

One has been curious... What are your thoughts at the start of a day?

That it’s a new day, a fresh start... If I’m playing and the previous day wasn’t all that good, then I’ll begin the day with a hope that things will change.

Do you, for example, pray at specific times?

I don’t have a fixed time.

The last one... Eventually, will Arjun carry the Tendulkar legacy forward?

(Almost interrupting) We should leave him alone, he’s still very young (12).