“I said ‘no, Aussie first'”: When Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne went all nervous on their way to meet Don Bradman

Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne were all but confident on their way to meet the legendary Sir Don Bradman on his 90th birthday. 

Legendary India batter Sachin Tendulkar was mere 25 years of age back then in 1998, when he received an invitation from the all time great of the game of Cricket- Sir Don Bradman, on the occasion of his 90th birthday.

With Tendulkar, accompanied yet another Aussie great- Shane Warne, as the duo, carrying all the nervous energies by their side, were on their way to wish and meet the legend at his house in Adelaide on August 27.

During an interaction with India Today a couple of years ago, Sachin Tendulkar (aged 47 in 2020), went nostalgic on his meeting with Bradman back in the year 1998.

As per Tendulkar, both Warne and him were in a fix as to who would initiate the conversation first, as both the legends of the game exhibited a rare case of lack of clarity, albeit off the Cricket field.

Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne finally gather the courage

Tendulkar revealed how Warne was driving the car they were in and was really nervous what to talk to Bradman about.

After moments of deliberation, it was finally decided by Tendulkar that it would be an Aussie who would strike a conversation with a fellow Aussie first.

“It was a big moment because I still remember from the hotel, Warnie was with me. Warnie was driving and he said ‘I am tensed, I am worried, what to talk to him about batting? You’re a batter, so you need to talk to him.’

“I said, ‘no, Aussie first’. I told him to start the conversation and I would follow up. So Shane Warne went inside and started talking a little bit,” said Tendulkar.

Warne then asked Sir Bradman as to what he reckoned he would have averaged if he batted in today’s era (in 1998)?

“Obviously, the natural question was ‘Sir Don, if you were batting in today’s era, what would you have averaged?’. He took about 10 seconds to think and said ‘maybe around 70’. Obvious reaction was ‘why only 70? Why not 99?’.

“He said ‘common kid, it’s not bad for a 90-year-old man’. That was his response. He enjoyed watching cricket. He was up with the game. Those were special moments,” recalled a nostalgic Sachin Tendulkar.

Averaging a world record of 99.94, Sir Don Bradman played a total of 52 Tests for Australia and scored a total of 6996 runs in his career. He retired in 1948, and earned the deserved knighthood the following year.