Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar on Friday said he was not too comfortable with the idea of having a computer in the dressing room, but came to accept the device after realising how important an aid it was to plan and strategise better.

“I had already played for India for 12-13 years. This was in 2002-03, when computer came to our dressing room. We were told that the computer is going to store all the data and we will have access to whatever we want. I asked what is the computer doing in the dressing room?” he recollected at a promotional.

“The computer is not going to bat for me, it is not going to bowl for Zaheer Khan or Harbhajan (Singh). But over a period of time, I realised that the data stored was accessible within seconds. If I wanted to see how I batted in Australia in 1999, in the year 2007, it was available in five seconds!

“If I wanted to see all the straight drives, if I wanted to see all the balls I had left outside the off-stump, it was all available. It was then that I accepted it,” he added.

Sachin said adapting to the new technology helped him prepare better.

“Things have become different. It has helped us plan better against the opposition. Whatever their weaknesses or strengths are, it has helped us. It is just about exposure and with time I learnt to accept all these things. It has become a way of life for us,” he said.

Sachin interacted with children and encouraged them to follow their dreams and work towards realising them. “It is really important to have a big plan in life. I wouldn’t say that when I was 10 or 11, I knew exactly what was going to happen for the next 20-25 years. But I did have a plan,” he said.

He added that the level of satisfaction he got from playing cricket cannot be compared with anything else. “Just be true to yourself. It is important that you take life seriously. Yes, you need to enjoy. I played cricket for so many years, I had lot of fun. I enjoyed doing what I wanted to do in life. It gave me the kind of satisfaction which cannot be compared with anything else,” he said.

Talking about his own kids, Sachin said his daughter Sara wants to be a doctor while his son Arjun is passionate about cricket.

“I have always told my children that, in life, they should become what they want to be and they will have our full support. My daughter wants to become a doctor, which is a fantastic thing. I am glad she is following her mother’s footsteps. My son, he is passionate about cricket,” he said.

Sachin, the first sportsperson to be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, said people have become liberal in career choices and are encouraging kids to venture into unconventional territory.

“Things are changing and with time, thinking has also changed... Twenty or 30 years back, how many parents would have want their child to become a chef. Today we have seen fantastic programmes on television where children are cooking and it is fantastic to watch,” he said.

Sachin advised children to persist with their dreams and not give up.

“Something you have got to remember in life. Whatever you want to be in life, the journey is never going to be smooth all the time. There are going to be rough patches along the way, but then you prepare yourself in such a manner that if any obstacle comes in your way, you are following the right path always.

“If you are on the right path, nothing can stop you. All you need to have self belief and determination and things will change. Wait for your opportunity and don’t give up,” he said.

Sachin said his big plan involved having belief, ignoring distraction and giving his best.

He told the kids to be serious about what they want to do and remain focussed.

“I dreamt and I chased my dreams. It applies to each and every child. There comes a stage where you have to become serious in life. You have got to dedicate, you need to have discipline, you need to have focus and if you want to succeed there has to be consistency in your concentration level.

“Your concentration level cannot have dips for a long period. There are professions where you need to switch on and switch off. But someone like a doctor, who is in the middle of the surgery, you cannot switch off,” he said.