Sachin Tendulkar gives ‘pep talk’ to Afghanistan team | Cricket News – Times of India

MUMBAI: Preparing for their 2023 World Cup match against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, the Afghanistan team received a huge boost when batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, in a laudable gesture, paid a visit and gave a ‘pep talk’ at their training on the eve of the game.
All the Afghanistan players were all ears as Tendulkar, the global ambassador of the ICC 2023 World Cup, spoke to them inside the ground, and happily obliged them for a picture with him.Playing some attractive cricket, Afghanistan have been the cynosure of everyone’s eyes, having won four matches to stay in contention for a berth in the semifinals.

(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Talking to the media just before he scampered across the ground to meet the cricket icon along with the rest of the team, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said, “We are all excited (to meet Tendulkar) because he’s a legend of the game. And for a lot of the (Afghanistan) players, we were watching him on TV as a successful player. And he was a role model for a lot of our players. So, it will be an exciting time for our team. It’ll be exciting to see him and maybe (he’ll speak) some words and we (will) learn from him.”

(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
“There were multiple requests by many players in the Afghanistan team to Tendulkar to meet him, so he just adhered to those requests. All the Afghanistan players have grown up watching Tendulkar, and are highly inspired by him. He’s happy that the Afghanistan team has done so well in the World Cup so far,” a source close to the retired great, who often visits the Indian, Mumbai and various other visiting team’s dressing rooms, told TOI.
Around a week back, Tendulkar’s life-sized statue had been erected at the Wankhede Stadium.