Apart from possibly being the best batsman ever, Sachin Tendulkar was also a prank master. Ask anyone who has played alongside him particularly the class of 2000 who debuted under Sourav Ganguly and they’ll tell you the same thing. Stories of Tendulkar pulling the legs of his teammates are the stuff of legends. Virat Kohli went through it himself, as did Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag, but all their cases pale in comparison to the one Suresh Raina went through.
Raina Recalls a Memorable In-Flight Prank
Raina and Tendulkar were partners since 2006 right up to the last of the Master Blaster’s retirement. They shared some historic victories and heartbreaks as well, but amid all the highs and lows, Raina distinctly recalls this particular episode on an airplane. While travelling to a city for a game, Raina remembered when Tendulkar chose to have some fun at his cost.
“We were once going to play a Test match when I was about 18 years old, and I was sitting in business class next to Sachin paaji. The air hostess came over and said, ‘Good morning, Sachin sir. How are you?’ and assuming I was Arjun Tendulkar, she said something to him about me in passing; Sachin paaji saw a chance to have some fun. He replied, ‘Yes, he’s not studying at all, what to do? I’ve even told Anjali (Tendulkar)’,” Raina said on the ‘Cheeky Singles’ show.
The incident is believed to have occurred at some time after July, 2010, the year Raina first played a Test for India. Against Sri Lanka in Colombo, Raina joined an elite list of 12 Indian batsmen who have made a century in Test debut, including Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag, among others.
The Big Reveal and Team’s Laughter
Looking back on that flight, Raina went on to say that Sachin eventually got up into the air and cleared the mistaken identity case, but not before they and the whole team enjoyed a good laugh about it.
“Later, we went to the section where the other players were sitting, and I blurted, ‘Why are you making me sit in business class? You’ve made me Arjun Tendulkar!’ (Sachin) paaji eventually clarified it to air hostess saying, ‘He’s a part of the Indian cricket team, he is Suresh Raina, not my son’. Paaji loved playing such big pranks sometimes.” Raina mentioned.
Raina and Tendulkar have had some classic batting partnerships but none more illustrious than a 256-run partnership in the same match at Colombo. Tendulkar scored 203, the highest for India, while Raina scored 120 to lead India to a whopping first-innings score of 707. The match resulted in a draw.
