Sachin Tendulkar, Dhanraj Pillay and another Sachin, an incident in the life Malaysian goalkeeper.
When Indian hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay phoned him and enquired whether his son Sachin is interested in meeting real Sachin, Natarajan would not believe his ears.
The former Malaysian goalkeeper, who played along side the Indian hockey legend in the Malaysian Hockey League, took his son to the Malaysian Cricket Association Stadium where Indian cricket team was practicing.
It happened four years ago, when four, five top cricket teams of the world assembled for a tournament in the most unlikely of place, Malaysia. Still, Natarajan, now goalkeeper coach of the Malaysian team in the Junior Asia Cup, vividly remembers the day his son Sachin was on cloud nine.
“Pillay’s only instruction to me was to get my phone to Sachin when he comes for practice, but I found that practically impossible as security would not allow me to even 100m close to Sachin”.
As Natarajan was in this difficulty, came RP Singh, up and coming cricketer then to pick up a ball, and exactly that time Natarajan told him Pillay is on the phone and wants to talk.
“I can’t believe this cricketer paid so much reverence to Pillay, at once I felt my son’s dream of meeting Sachin will materialize. In the next minute, RP Singh handed over the phone to Sachin, who spoke to Dhanraj almost 10,15 minutes non stop. Then he called me. Once Sachin called us, everything seemed to fall in line, security would allow us, things flow easily.”
“Me and my son almost spent half an hour with Sachin. Though am not a cricket fan my son, who was named after the cricketer due to my wife’s passion of this cricketing personality, was jumping in joy.”
“Sachin was a such a simple person it is difficult to think anybody else of his stature would. He offered us tea, spent much time. And when he asked what more he needs, I told him that one legend put me through another legend and I need a photo with him with his son, which he obliged, and got a photographer do that.”
“We in the family hold the photo dear to us, not only to remember Sachin but also to think how much care Pillay took on my son’s interest, and also how much influential Dhanraj Pillay is with other sporting legends.”
“Once we were with Sachin for such a time, it took the entire Indian media by surprise, they surrounded us to know how we know Sachin, and what we discussed, like things”.
“Days later one Hindi paper in India published a story on us under the title, Sachin meets Sachin.