UNI

New Delhi, Jul 14: Choicest expletives or artless sledging from hostile bowlers could not provoke him enough to go for an assault and Sachin Tendulkar says he never felt the need to do a Zinedine Zidane, who head-butted an Italian defender in the World Cup soccer final.

Sachin was here on Thursday on a promotional campaign for a mobile service provider, of which he is the brand ambassador and the little champion faced a verbal volleys that ranged from Zidane's head-butt to his love for music.

''I can't comment on Zidane's head-butt, for I was in London and he was playing in Berlin,'' he said, trying to evade the question.

Pressed further whether he was similarly provoked by the opposition team ever, Sachin, admired as much for his cricketing skills on field as for his impeccable demeanour off it, said, ''Well, I never felt or thought about head-butting, so far.''

Facing the chin music is part of his professional hazards but Sachin says he remains a music buff.

''Dire strait is my favourite band and my favourite song is 'Sultan of swing'. Among others, I like eagles and U2. I'm also a fan of the great Indian singers like Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhonsle and Lata Mangeshkar.

Of the current crop, I like Sonu Nigam, Shaan and others,'' he said.

Incidentally, Tendulkar met dire straits' lead singer mark Knopfler in Mumbai and exchanged a bat and a guitar between themselves.

''I enjoy good music and like it as long as the rhythm is good,'' Sachin added.

The batting maestro also revealed his love for mobile gaming. ''I play with my son Arjun, but most of the time, it's him who wins it,'' he quipped.

Asked if he was a techno-savvy person, Sachin said, ''Well, to some extent. But I'm not the guy who sees a new gadget in the magazine and getting that becomes his goal.''