He has been playing cricket for over 20 years now, but Sachin Tendulkar says he remains as passionate about the game as he was in his initial days in the sport.
"The passion doesn't disappear. You know it is as strong and above all I respect cricket. It doesn't matter where I play. I will always play to the best of my ability, because I care about playing cricket... Good, quality cricket. I always wanted to go out and compete hard," the Mumbai Indians skipper told ESPN-Star ahead of the Champions League Twenty20 match against Highveld Lions here.
"Playing for Mumbai has always meant special for me and playing for India also has been extremely special. It was a dream and I am living that dream... And when Mumbai and India are combined together it becomes Mumbai Indians," he added.
Talking about the disappointment of losing the IPL final to Chennai Super Kings after being almost unbeatable in the league stages, Tendulkar said, "You know I was determined like every other time I was determined. My preparations were exactly the same.
"Sometimes you score runs sometimes you don't but I can assure you the efforts put in was always the same," he added.