Tendulkar joins Das to bat for children

Kathmandu, November 16

Former Indian national cricket team skipper Sachin Tendulkar played a token match with school children here at the Tribhuvan University Stadium in his maiden visit to Nepal.

The Little Master, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket, was here to participate in the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and European Union programme — commemoration of 30 years of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Tendulkar is the goodwill ambassador of UNICEF.

Donning the blue jersey and trouser, the highest run scorer of all time in International cricket, Tendulkar led the blue team and stood behind the stumps as his team fielded first in the T10 match, which was later reduced to eight-over-a-side, against red team led by former Nepal national cricket team skipper Binod Das. Played with the tennis ball, the Master Blaster entertained the crowd with left arm spin bowling and also batted for a couple of overs, scoring seven runs including a boundary.

Most importantly, Tendulkar — the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in an ODI, the holder of the record
for the most runs in both Test and ODI, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket — chatted with school children of both the teams and inspired them.

Tendulkar began with a line in Nepali — tapai haru lai ramro lagyo (Did you all feel good)? — that followed a huge round of applause from the crowd. “When we were walking out to play, it reminded me of my childhood; it reminded me the freedom I got from my parents, the freedom to be what I wanted to be in life and not what they wanted me to be. It is really important to understand the strengths, likes and dislikes of your child,” said Tendulkar after the match.

“I will be failing on my duties if I don’t congratulate UNICEF for completing 30 years of CRC. I also feel, in 1992 Nepal was the first signatory of CRC, and it clearly was evident of Nepal’s commitment to making Nepal better. When we talk about getting better in life, it doesn’t mean you are not good at this moment. Even the best in the world continues get better. When it comes to children there is no better platform than a playfield and it could be any sports.”

Former Nepal national cricket team skipper Binod Das was all praise of Tendulkar. “I would like to thank UNICEF and European Union for bringing in the god to our temple. This (TU Stadium) is our temple, where the cricket started and reached to next level. Today god has graced our temple and from now we will keep going up in the days to come,” said Das.

“This is the same ground where we played for so many years but I am feeling different today. It was like a dream come true for me as I could lead a children’s team and share the ground with a cricketer who is heartthrob for billions. I believe the presence of Tendulkar at the TU Stadium has certainly inspired these children,” added Das. “You have made cricket richer with your presence and I would like to thank you for choosing cricket.”

A student from Vishwo Niketan School, Nismita Karki described the moment with Tendulkar as a golden opportunity. “I feel lucky to meet the god of cricket and play with him. He was so caring on the field that he did not hit or threw the ball hard on us. It was like once in a lifetime opportunity for us,” added the 10th grader who quit cricket a couple of years ago. “After meeting Tendulkar and playing with him, I would like to start again and play cricket.”

Another player, Madhav Sah said he would follow the advice of Tendulkar to become a successful cricketer. “I had not even thought of getting a chance to play with a player like Sachin Tendulkar, the god of cricket. We are so much happy that he came to the ground, talked with us, shook hands with us and played a match,” he said. “I always wanted to be a cricketer and I am determined to follow his advices. He lent lessons on how to react on particular situation and play freely under pressure,” he added.

Tendulkar is the second sports superstar to come to Nepal under UNICEF programme in four years after former England international footballer David Beckham. Beckham had visited Bhaktapur Durbar Square in 2015 and played a charity match with school children at Taumadi. Beckham also gave shots for a documentary — David Beckham: For the Love of the Game.

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