'Give him boxing gloves...'- Sachin Tendulkar makes honest confession on Steve Bucknor's umpiring

The relationship between batters and umpires is a mix of sweet and sour. In the case of the legendary batter, Sachin Tendulkar, and the West Indies umpire, Steve Bucknor, it was one way around. There were several decisions that saw him get dismissed in the pre-DRS era. There was the worst video of Tendulkar being adjudged leg before the stumps against the short ball.

During Tendulkar’s first-ever ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on Reddit, the India batter shared his true feelings towards Bucknor when a fan wanted to know his feelings. On more than one occasion, the West Indies umpire controversially ruled the legendary batter out when replays suggested otherwise.

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“Any comments for Steve Bucknor?'. "When I am batting, give him boxing gloves to wear (so he can't raise his finger,” Tendulkar answers the fan’s question. The first flashpoint came at the Gabba in 2003 when he didn’t offer a shot to Jason Gillespie, which stuck him on the pads as Bucknor raised his finger to the surprise of everyone present in the ground.

Sachin Tendulkar shares true feelings on Steve Bucknor’s umpiring

The saga continued at Eden Gardens against Pakistan. Abdul Razzaq’s delivery went past Tendulkar’s bat without making any contact, to which Bucknor responded by raising his finger as Tendulkar got dismissed caught behind. His irritation was clear as he walked back to the pavilion with frustration.

Even years later, the memories are still fresh. Last year, the right-handed experienced batter amused the fans on social media platforms with a very cheeky post that many took as a playful dig at the Jamaica-born. Besides sharing the photo of himself in a stance before three tree trunks lined up like stumps, Tendulkar added, ‘Can you guess which umpire made the stumps feel big?’ in the caption.

Tendulkar finished as the leading run-getter across formats. The right-handed batter has smashed 34357 runs in 782 innings at an average of 48.52 and a strike rate of 67.58, with the help of 100 centuries and 164 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 248 runs against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).