So it was rare seeing Tendulkar, now retired from ODIs and looking to improve his dipping form before the Tests against Australia, enter the rather-sanitized Palam Airforce sports complex early on Tuesday morning to only a smattering of applause and a motley crew of hanger-ons, mostly from the armed forces.
The crowd did swell as news of his presence spread but at Palam, entry is usually more regulated than at other venues. There is a healthy smattering of security personnel at all times and there are no stands for the casual spectator.
Hosts Services, barring this season's dream run, are usually among the bottom feeders in the Ranji Trophy and staging such high-profile matches are not the norm.
In the past, the Indian team used to train here regularly to avoid the media glare but that practice has been discontinued. Reportedly, Tendulkar didn't want to play the semifinal here.
On match eve, he would have returned with none-too-good first impressions of the training facilities on offer. Tendulkar has learnt to disregard onlookers but the practice nets managed to disrupt his sacrosanct pre-match rituals.
He was the first to pad up and his stint lasted barely minutes, even with Mumbai slow bowler Vishal Dabholkar in operation.
One ball kept alarmingly low and shot through to hit him on the toes, and the batsman, with a wry smile on his face, promptly discarded the session, with Dabholkar chuckling away.
Tendulkar then kept some bats and gloves at the far end as makeshift stumps, with trainer Amogh Pandit indulging him with the mandatory throwdowns. Even that didn't last long, though, and Tendulkar seemed to shrug off the disappointment as Wasim Jaffer brought his attention to the sightscreens, which didn't seem to be high enough.
Promptly the matter was brought to the notice of the Services authorities, including air commodore M Baladitya, a former Team India media manager, and Tendulkar took to the main 'A' square (there are two grounds) and bowled some leg spin before indulging some fans, including a special child who had been brought in.
Later, Tendulkar was seen having a chat with curator Venkat Sundaram, and one wonders if Tendulkar's discomfiture about the training area will spread to the playing surface come Wednesday.
This is a newly-laid pitch and a whole host of names have been busy sprucing up the 22 yards, including chief BCCI curator Daljit Singh, Indore's Samander Singh Chauhan — due to depart tomorrow after the game begins — and Delhi's Venkat Sundaram.
Low scores and seam-friendly conditions have been the norm so far. On an adjacent strip, India A scored 224 last week to beat England A's 175 in reply on January 6, but a string of mediocre scores in the Group C games, where batting quality isn't the highest, is past precedent on the pitch for this game.
"The cold has made pitch preparations difficult but given the challenges the surface is good," said Chauhan, "The grass isn't lively in the cold and there isn't enough transpiration." Sundaram sounded more upbeat, saying, "It'll be a good pitch. Because it's an open ground, expect some movement. Good batsmen can score runs here."
Railways veteran Yashpal Singh said, "We hope it plays well. Seam is our strength and we hope to ruffle a few feathers. I've played a lot of important games in my life but this match is special only because of paaji's presence."
Tendulkar, who is one century short of equalling Sunil Gavaskar's India record of 81 first-class tons, will be hoping the curators keep their word.
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