Sunil Gavaskar recalls when 14-year-old Sachin Tendulkar’s question floored him

Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar had known Sachin Tendulkar since he was young. Gavaskar, the cricketer-turned-commentator believed that Tendulkar would go on to become a terrific batter and one of the best in the world. He has recently recalled a funny incident that occurred when Tendulkar was just 14 years old.

Gavaskar, who retired from professional cricket after the 1987 World Cup, gifted his lightweight leg guards to young Tendulkar. After a few days, Tendulkar paid a visit to Gavaskar’s residence to thank him for the leg guards and also presented him with a ‘Thank You’ card. Gavaskar, on the other hand, asked Tendulkar to sign the card, but Tendulkar’s signature was difficult for the senior batter to understand.

Tendulkar was then recommended by Gavaskar to change it since he would have to sign a lot of autographs in the future. He also told him about Sir Don, Sir Garfield, and Vijay Merchant’s signatures, noting that even many years after they retired, their signatures can be recognized easily. However, in response, the Master Blaster asked him whether it wasn’t easy to fake his signature, which left the 73-year-old in splits.

“He gave me a thank you card with his name written in block letters. I asked him to sign the card, and he scribbled a completely unreadable signature. I asked him if he had seen the signatures of Sir Don, Sir Garfield, and even our own Vijay Merchant?,” said Gavaskar in the book Sachin@50.

Sachin’s question floored me: Sunil Gavaskar

“I told him that even so many years after they retired, their signatures can be easily identified and that 50 years from now when fans look at autographs, they should be able to say, ‘Ah, that’s Sachin Tendulkar’s autograph.’ He nodded, and his next question floored me. He said, ‘Yes, but isn’t it easy to forge these signatures?’ I couldn’t help laughing, for a 14-year-old kid was conscious that his signature could be forged in the future,” Gavaskar added.