Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai
When he went to Ramakant Achrekar’s nets for the first time, Sachin Tendulkar was in a pair of white canvas shoes with flat green soles — something that almost everyone of a certain generation has worn for his/her PE classes in school. After a few days, the great coach asked Tendulkar’s brother, Ajit, to arrange for a pair of cricket shoes with spikes.
In modern context, those boots would look primitive — long nails driven hard into ragged leather. But that’s the way it used to be for the budding cricketers in the 1980s.
Achrekar’s gurukul had a star pupil those days, answering to the name of Pravin Amre. He went to play for India U-19 in Australia and returned with a few fancy pairs of cricket shoes. “Looking at those pairs of shoes in his kit bag, I used to feel if I could have one,” said Tendulkar at the launch of TEN X YOU here in Mumbai on Friday. It’s a sports and athleisure brand that is built on the master batsman’s 24 years of on-ground experience and his deep understanding of athlete needs.
Coming back to the cricket boots story, Tendulkar continued: “He (Amre) told me, ‘If you score a century, I will gift you one’. Then, I scored a century but couldn’t go to him and ask for a pair. But he remembered it and gifted me a pair of his cricket shoes. That was my first fancy pair.” Amre, in attendance, looked emotional.
Tendulkar ended up being the crown jewel among Achrekar’s disciples. But Amre, too, went on to play for India. He is now a well-respected coach. The friendship remains unbroken. Another close friend of Tendulkar, the current chairman of the senior selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, was present as well.
Tendulkar spoke about how a foot injury in 2000 made him delve deep into the right footwear choice for an athlete. Injections didn’t work, and then, in South Africa, podiatrists told him about the benefits of using right insoles. The great man shared those experiences, as the TEN X YOU range was displayed at the event. Tendulkar is a co-founder and the ‘chief inspiration officer’ of the company.
The legendary former India captain signed off with a message to the youngsters: “Don’t just be a watcher (of sport). Play as much as you can. Playing a sport will make you feel on top of the world, so just start, and never stop playing.”
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