UAE cricket team gets the backing of Sachin Tendulkar

Local fans may have been disappointed as UAE crashed out of the ICC Cricket World Cup, but the team’s international outing has been noticed and supported by none other than the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

The cricketing great, who was in UAE on Sunday to launch Aster DM Healthcare’s 150th pharmacy in the capital, found time to interact with local media and congratulate the country’s achievement at this year’s tournament.

Tendulkar said: “Being in this part of the world, I would like to congratulate the UAE team for participating in the World Cup.

“Being a cricketer, for me the greatest joy would be seeing this game globalised, going places, from China to America.”

He continued: “I would like to see as many countries participating in bigger tournaments of cricket. That is how we will get more fan following and talent.”

Quizzed whether he would like to return to the UAE again to play cricket someday, Tendulkar welcomed the idea, saying: “Yes, I would to come here more often. You know it is always been a warm welcome when we come here, especially the last season when we played cricket here. The way people received us was something special.

“I don’t know whether I will be back in the capacity of a cricketer or not, but always nice to be here. Maybe play some exhibition games, something like that.”

As India readies to take on Australia in the semifinal in Sydney on Thursday, Tendulkar reminisced about the 2003 faceoff between the two cricketing nations that ultimately saw the later lift the trophy in South Africa.

Tendulkar said: “The 2003 one was a memorable World Cup. We didn’t start very well, not as well as we started in this World Cup. But along the way we played good cricket and the team believed each other. We stuck close to each other and produced some cricket that the nation was proud of.”

He continued: “We reached the finals where we lost, and as we were heading back home, my friends called me at the airport and said, ‘where is that gold bat of yours?’”

Tendulkar won the accolade of the ‘Man of the Tournament’ that World Cup, where he was awarded a gold bat.

“Honest to God, I did not realise it was a gold bat. All I was playing for was that big trophy,” he said. ”

“And when I was handed this big bat as ‘Man of the Tournament’ I put it into a box and had checked it in without realising it’s a gold bat and it could have been stolen in baggage.”

Laughing over his folly, the cricketer added: “Something that journey taught us was that it really does not matter that there are challenges along the way. It is all about how you think.

“If you are thinking about solutions, then your path automatically gets cleared up. And that’s what happened to us.”

Pledging support

During the UAE visit, Tendulkar, along with Dr Azad Moopen of Aster DM Healthcare, both pledged Dh1 million each in supporting the “the less privileged people”.

Tendulkar explained: “We started an initiative called Spreading Happiness in India, which is lighting up those houses in small villages, where they have no electricity. Life after sunset passes into darkness.

“With this initiative, it’s all about making people healthy and happy. Giving them a reason to smile.”

Giving insight into his humble beginnings, Tendulkar spoke about his family, saying: “I would like to rewind the clock and share what my grandmother used to tell me when I was a kid: do whatever in life, but always remember health is wealth.”
 

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