Sachin evasive about his future plans

Port of Spain, Mar 16 (UNI) Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar today made light of queries about his post World Cup plans, saying ''let us get over with this one first.'' Tendulkar is among the three batsmen who are playing their fifth World Cup, the other two being Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul Haq and West Indies captain Brian Lara.

''Let's first look at this one,'' he said on the sidelines of a visit to a Port of Spain suburb aimed at creating wider awareness among teenagers about the risks of HIV.

''Whatever will happen is very far away from here. I want to see how my body reacts at this tournament first and then think of anything else,'' the highest run-getter in the World Cup history said.

''This is a question that has been asked to several players and even skipper Rahul Dravid has faced his share of such queries,'' the former captain said.

On India's chances in the tournament, Tendulkar was upbeat.

''I think our chances are very good. What we need to do is to get a good momentum going early and stick to our basics. We are not going to take an opposition lightly. There is no room for over-confidence or complacency,'' he said.

Giving further evidence of a man living in the present, he refused to look ahead to the Super Eight stage and the chances of beating the hosts. ''That's in the next stage. We first have three matches here and are more focused on those. We will plan for the next stage after that.

''The West Indies were bowled out for 85 against us and then gave a brilliant performance against Pakistan which goes to prove that every day is a new day in cricket,'' Tendulkar said.

''The format is such that every match we are playing is against different opposition so we have to be up for it and plan accordingly.

We will have to show flexibility,'' he asserted.

Playing the early part of this World Cup in Port of Spain has its advantages for India. Tendulkar, who was surrounded by fans said, ''Being here is good for us. There are a lot of people of Indian origin here and it's wonderful to see the sort of support we get.

''Most of the time it is tough to interact with our supporters closely so it's great to rub shoulders with them on such occasions,'' he said.

UNI