Indian Test team’s vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane on Thursday narrated his experience of meeting Sachin Tendulkar for the first time at the master’s residence.
In a video uploaded on his official Instagram handle, Rahane said, “I was 14 and on my birthday I requested my coach that I want to meet Sachin. 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.”
However, such was Rahane’s excitement that he had ended up reaching Tendulkar’s place at 9:30 in the morning.
“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,” he added.
Rahane would go on to share the dressing room with Tendulkar in his initial years with the Indian team and while playing for Mumbai.
Ever since making his international debut in 2011, the 31-year-old Rahane has played 65 Test matches, 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is and has scored 4203, 2962 and 375 runs respectively. He has 11 Test hundreds and three one-day centuries under his name.