Mumbai: Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said that he had met batting great Sachin Tendulkar at the age of 14. He uploaded a video on Instagram Thursday which he spoke about how he met Tendulkar, who turns 47 Friday.
“I was 14 and on my birthday I requested my coach that I want to meet Sachin,” he says in the video. “He took permission from Sachin and he said yes. He told my coach that you can ask Ajinkya to come around 4.30 in the evening.”
Rahane said that in his excitement, he ended up reaching his coach’s home at 9.30 in the morning of the day he was to meet Tendulkar.
“I was so excited and nervous as well. We used to live in Dombivali at the time so from there I went to Dadar where my coach lived. 9.30 in the morning, I was there at his house. And Sachin had called me at 4.30,” said Rahane.
“So my coach asked why are you here now and I said what if the train got delayed or there was no train. I don’t want to miss any chance of meeting Sachin.
“I don’t remember exactly what I was doing for all that time but I was roaming around outside Dadar station. I was so excited about meeting Sachin that I did not even understand when all that time went. And then I met him for the first time at his home, took his autograph and discussed a little bit about cricket.”
Rahane would go on to share the dressing room with Tendulkar in his initial years with the Indian team and while playing for Mumbai.
IANS