A tribute to Tendulkar

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Sachin Tendulkar is the Dilip Kumar of cricket. He is a true legend. Apart from his achievements in the sports, he was never involved in match fixing and never had a tiff with the cricket authorities. It would be pertinent to mention here that Tendulkar never endorsed any brands of cigarettes, as it was the wish of his father.
I remember once in early ’70s, after attending lectures at my college (St. Xavier’s) I went to Azad Maidan just across the road where Harris Shield final was going on between Shardashram (Eng) and Anjuman-i-Islam. I found out that Sachin got out after scoring a century. I went into the tent where young Tendulkar Sachin had just entered, patted him on his back and said, “well done boy.” He turned around and said: “Thank you sir.”
He was so down to earth. I was really moved and can never forget that meeting with him, my first and last. — Shamshad Ahmed, Jeddah