When Pravin Amre’s Gift Set Young Sachin Tendulkar on His Legendary Path
Sachin recalls the heartfelt gift that launched his cricket dream.
In the annals of cricket history, few stories resonate as deeply as Sachin Tendulkar’s rise from the dusty maidaans of Mumbai to global stardom. Mentored by the legendary coach Ramakant Achrekar, Tendulkar honed his craft in the competitive crucible of Mumbai’s school cricket, a breeding ground for future stars. Many of his peers from those early days went on to achieve greatness, but a recent anecdote shared by Tendulkar sheds light on a pivotal moment in his journey: the story of his first pair of specialized cricket shoes, a gift from his friend and teammate Pravin Amre.
Amre, four years Tendulkar’s senior at Shardashram Vidyamandir school, had just returned from India’s Under-19 tour of Australia when the incident occurred. As Tendulkar recalled in an interview with The Times of India, their coach Achrekar instructed the younger players to observe Amre’s batting closely. While doing so, Tendulkar and his teammates couldn’t help but notice the impressive gear in Amre’s kit bag, particularly a pair of “fancy” cricket shoes. Amre, sensing their fascination, made a playful challenge to Tendulkar: “Score a hundred and take them!”
True to his prodigious talent, Tendulkar scored the century. Yet, as he shared, he lacked the courage to remind Amre of the promise. To his surprise, Amre approached him and gifted him the coveted shoes—his first pair of high-quality cricket spikes. “I cannot forget that,” Tendulkar reflected, underscoring the significance of that moment in his early career.
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Amre, touched by Tendulkar’s recollection, expressed his astonishment that the cricket icon still remembered the gesture decades later. “I was really overwhelmed,” Amre said. “This incident must’ve happened in 1987 or 1988. I had totally forgotten about it!” He noted that the shoes, imported and rare in India at the time, were specialized batting spikes. “I feel so proud that I gifted them to the right person, who went on to become perhaps the greatest cricketer ever,” Amre added.
Reflecting on the exchange years later, Amre downplayed his gesture as a “small thing.” Tendulkar, however, was quick to correct him, emphasizing that at that formative stage of his life, the gift was monumental. This heartfelt story not only highlights Tendulkar’s humility but also underscores the camaraderie and mentorship that shaped his path to becoming a cricketing legend.
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