NEW DELHI: The legendary Sachin Tendulkar delivered a powerful message on Tuesday, reminding young cricketers that true progress is impossible without passion and fire. He urged the next generation to "climb the mountain" and become the standard others aspire to match.

Reflecting on his own journey, Tendulkar shared how his obsession with the game shaped his career. As a youngster, he wasn't just in love with cricket - he was consumed by it. During summer breaks, he often trained up to 12 hours a day for nearly two months straight, driven purely by the desire to get better.

"I started playing cricket because I was passionate. I was madly in love with the sport and all I wanted to do was play for India and I was prepared to do whatever it took," Tendulkar said ahead of the Indian Street Premier League season 3 auction in Mumbai.

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"There were various stages in my life - there was school cricket and I was prepared to work hard, possibly be on the field for 12 hours. There was a period where I did that for 55 days in a row in my summer holidays and (I) finally fell sick but that is what it is. If the passion and that fire is not there, you are not going to be able to move forward," he added.

Tendulkar noted that while many factors contribute to a player's development, what ultimately matters is performing when it counts the most.

"To move forward you need hard work, you need planning, you need to be able to execute that, you need the right guidance, (and) discipline," he said.

"… (a) number of elements come together and then when the time comes you have to go out and perform and that is how you progress to the next level."

Tendulkar said that expectations naturally follow players who've delivered before, but stressed that they must not let that pressure weigh them down.

"We have to remember, why are the expectations there? The expectations are there because of your past performances," he said.

"Suddenly, you cannot come here and think 'there are too many exceptions from me and there is too much pressure. How should I do it?'.

"You can look at it in two ways. Either you get bogged down, the weight of pressure suddenly freezes you. Or you say that 'the expectations are there only because I have done well in the past'."

Tendulkar cited examples of Irfan Umair and Abhishek Dalhor, who got opportunities to play at senior levels from the tennis-ball ISPL.

While Umair represented Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy earlier this year, Dalhor featured as a nets bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders.

"My advice to all the players is to be yourself. Don't look to compete with anyone else. Whatever you were yesterday, can you better yourself today? Can you continue that journey?," he said.

"It's a beautiful journey to continue getting better and create that impression on the field. This (ISPL) is one such platform where you can go out, express yourself and everyone is watching you and enjoying your talent."

"My advice is to just go out, be yourself, climb the mountain. Climb the mountain because from these two seasons, we have learnt that Abhishek and Irfan both have been able to climb the mountain, (or) at least the journey has begun.

"One went to bowl for KKR in the nets and the other played for Mumbai, which is a magnificent thing," he said.

Tendulkar continued, "Climb the mountain so that you can see the world, not so that the world can see you. Seeing the world and exploring more things is going to make you a better player and a better contributor on the field. Eventually, you will be setting examples for the rest of the guys."

(With PTI Inputs)