Group Capt Tendulkar's 1st mission: Flying Sukhoi

IAF honours Sachin Tendulkar

Figuratively, he may have "touched the sky with glory" innumerable times. This time, he will literally do it in the most potent supersonic fighter jet in the country's air combat fleet.  From a master-blaster on the cricketing field, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar smoothly made the transition to an "air warrior" on Friday when he was conferred with the honorary rank of Group Captain by Air Chief Marshal P V Naik in the presence of the over 90-year-old Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh. And the next thing on the agenda of Group Captain Tendulkar, who as a teenager was fascinated by the Tom Cruise-starrer 'Top Gun', is a spin on the twin-seater Sukhoi-30MKI "air dominance" fighter. "We all want, at some stage, to 'touch the sky with glory'," said Tendulkar, referring to the IAF motto, which epitomises his own life as an iconic cricketer. Tendulkar got his rank, with epaulettes and all on his smart new blue uniform, equivalent to a colonel in the Army, on Friday. After the Sukhoi sortie, "We will also pin the 'wings' on him," said ACM Naik.

Amid all the talk of integrity, dedication and discipline of armed forces, the match-fixing scandal currently rocking the cricketing world was bound to come up. "Integrity is extremely important... we need a clean image. I am sure the ICC will take all the correct steps to ensure this. My job is to stick to cricket and worry about scoring more runs," said Tendulkar. Asked if mind-boggling sums being offered in T-20 leagues like IPL were making young cricketers more vulnerable to the lure of lucre, Tendulkar said, "The priorities have to be right. The priority is to play cricket in the cleanest way and in the right spirit. When I started playing cricket, it was not about money... If I make more money and less runs, I won't be able to sleep at night." What next for the batting maestro? A Bharat Ratna? "It's the biggest honour. It's the dream of every Indian. Who will not like to get Bharat Ratna," replied Tendulkar.

But that is something for the future. As of now, Tendulkar is thrilled with his new Group Captain rank. "This is a special day. I am extremely proud to be a member of the IAF family," he said. He is also looking forward to the Sukhoi sortie, even though the joyride he had undertaken in an Impala jet trainer of the South African Air Force in 1996 had proved to be "a frightening experience". " There was restricted space (in the cockpit)... Then, there were instructions about how to eject," he joked. But he can rest assured that IAF will take all care to ensure he is comfortable in the fourth-generation Sukhoi, with the pilot eschewing hair-raising combat manoeuvres and sticking to a simple cruising flight of just around 1,000-kmph or Mach 1.