Published: Nov 14, 2013, 02:13 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 12, 2014, 08:18 PM (IST)
The face of the Indian cricket fan in India, Sudhir Kumar Gautam (left) with his idol Sachin Tendulkar after the maestro invited him into the Indian dressing room following the 2011 win in the World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium on April 2 © Getty Images
Sachin Tendulkar commands a humungous fan-following. However, there are many fans who have redefined the craze and have gone miles to express their devotion. Nishad Pai Vaidya writes about 10 such fans.
Sachin Tendulkar is easily the most followed cricketer in the world. His bat has been a magicical wand that mesmerised the people and enchanted them into becoming his followers. While his fanfare borders mass frenzy, there are a few who have gone the extra mile to show their love and appreciation for the legendary batsman.
As former Delhi batsman K Bhaskar Pillai told CricketCountry, “Sachin’s aura commands hero worship. It is like watching an Amitabh Bachchan movie, where you became his fan after being mesmerised by him. Similarly, millions fell for Sachin’s strokeplay and became his die-hard fans. It was like a dream.”
Here are some of the biggest Tendulkar fans:
1. Sudhir Kumar Gautam
You listen to him speak and his story touches your heart. He cycled all the way from Bihar to meet his idol in 2003 and since then Tendulkar has helped him get tickets for every India game in the country. As a sign of gratitude, he sends 1,000 litchis to the Tendulkar household every year. With his body painted in the tri-colour at every game, his idol’s name is unmistakably etched on his body. Tendulkar too realizes he is special and invited him to the Indian dressing room after the 2011 World Cup final. An emotional Sudhir Kumar told CricketCountry: “Meri nau saal lambi tapsya uss din samapth hui jab maine unke saath trophy uthai (My nine-year journey was complete the moment I held the trophy with him).”
2. Saraswathi Vaidyanathan
Tendulkar proved on the field that age is just a number. In 2010, Tendulkar met his oldest fan — 87-year-old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan, who called the maestro her grandson. Despite her advanced age, she had a razor sharp memory and knew Tendulkar’s scores at the back of her hand. Her son said that watching Tendulkar bat helped her whenever she had any health problems. The Hindu reported that she even asked Tendulkar to complete his 100 hundreds. Unfortunately, she wasn’t around to watch him get to the milestone.
3. Ajeet Singh Tanwar
A labourer from Sikar, Rajasthan, Ajeet Singh Tanwar remembers every One-Day International (ODI) century and Test innings of Tendulkar. “You ask me and I will tell you how much he has scored in all the Test matches he has played or when did he score his 10th or 23rd ODI century,” he told the media. Remembering all the scores is a daily exercise for him and he did meet Tendulkar early this year during the Ranji Trophy semi-final at Palam. Tendulkar has also promised him that he would arrange tickets for his 200th and final Test when they met recently at Lahli.
4. The Anholt family from New Zealand
Nick Anholt is such a big Tendulkar fan that he named his son Sachin. There are scores of Indian children who have been named after the maestro, but to see the same in a foreign land is truly special. And Sachin Anholt did meet his namesake when India toured New Zealand in 2009. The master was gracious to spend some time with him and even gave him an autographed set of photos from the Indian team. Senior Anholt told Sportstar, “I’ve always liked the name and knew he was going to be one of the greats, and now my Sachin is a budding cricketer too.”
5. Archana Purohit
Cricketers are a superstitious lot, but even Tendulkar’s fans share the same feeling when he walks out to bat. Ask Archana Purohit, who is the better-half of an official at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior. Tendulkar calls her his sister ever since he met her in 1999 and she applied tilak on his forehead, as Daily Bhaskar reported. And, once he did well in that game, it has become a practice whenever he played at Gwalior. In fact, he always meets her whenever he travels to the city. Guess you know how he got that One-Day International double century there!
6. The man who gate-crashed Wankhede Stadium
Once Tendulkar called it a day from the One-Day International (ODI), he was free to play for Mumbai and during the 2012-13 Quarter-Final against Baroda, he scored a ton. When he reached the mark, a fan ran from the East Stand towards the wicket. The umpire asked him to leave and even Tendulkar seemed to gesture, asking him to be patient. But, his repeated requests were obliged by Tendulkar as he agreed to shake hands with him. However, the moment he shook hands, the man fell to Tendulkar’s feet even as the master tried to stop him.
7. Lionel Cann
The name may not ring a bell, but Lionel Cann is an international cricketer himself, having played for Bermuda at the 2007 World Cup. In fact, his teammates feared that when they faced India, he may even drop Tendulkar’s catch only for the pleasure of watching him bat. Irving Romaine, the Bermuda captain was quoted by The Hindu before the World Cup, “I can honestly say that we have a player called Lionel Cann. His biggest player is actually Tendulkar. Right now I’m hoping Tendulkar does not hit a catch to him because he will probably drop it to watch him bat.”
8. Lovejit Singh
To say that Lovejit Singh is a Tendulkar devotee is an understatement. The nine-year-old practices everyday only after worshiping Tendulkar and performing a puja in front of his photos. After his ritual is done, he proceeds to the practice arena which is made near his house. Plus, there is a Tendulkar statue on his terrace and he bows to it every day.
9. Harshul Goenka
Harshul Goenka is a special fan and Tendulkar recognizes that. His love for the game and craze to watch Tendulkar takes him to the cricket ground despite suffering from cerebral palsy. He has a place reserved for him at the Eden Gardens and Tendulkar leaves tickets for him whenever he is in town. Not only that, but Tendulkar also played cricket with him in a hotel lobby recently. Tendulkar affectionately calls him, “Boss.”
10. Balvir Chand
Chand is a Tendulkar look-alike and has made a name for himself because of that. He has made public appearances and has also featured in a few Bollywood movies. However, Tendulkar is his hero and he told Times of India, “He is my farishta, an angel. My face is the biggest gift from god.” Apart from that, he has also written 16 songs dedicated to Tendulkar.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_44)
