Perhaps the most unusual and unheard-of episode in the history of this sport is that there is a moment when Sachin Tendulkar who will later go on to become a cricketing wonder in India did not only bat but also fielded for Pakistan during a festival match.
Tendulkar was simply a 15 years old child prodigy and not the cricketing legend that he is today. This Concrete happened during the 1987 tour of India by Pakistan when Javed Miandad and Abdul Qadir stepped into the lunch room, Sachin was called to the field to replace Imran Khan’s team.
Rather enthusiastic and than voracious Tendulkar played a field for touches of the soft spoke with the gentlemen on the panel, so asked to be violent and aggressive now. He picked up the fielding position in the deep and for a short period wore the uniform of the Pakistan team, quite a bizarre incident as an Indian future great played against his cricket arch contenders.
Imran had given us a long-on and didn’t waste any time in throwing a short pile towards him for Kapil Dev! After making a concerted effort along with a 15-metre dash towards the ball, the kid Sachin was irritated to notice that he was short.
In a recent autobiography titled ‘Playing it My Way’, Tendulkar narrates that incident in detail and writes that he later complained to a friend saying that had he been at mid-on instead of long-on, he would have caught the ball.
While this particular incident might be considered more of a story, it nonetheless still bears testament to the heart of cricket and its ever changing face.
This continues to be a most interesting aside in the ‘Book of Tendulkar’ and exemplifies the love and commitment that he had towards cricket from even his earlier years.
