Former England cricketer Graeme Swann has recalled an incident in New York when an American couple asked him who Sachin Tendulkar was, due to the frenzy surrounding the Indian cricket legend during the Cricket All-Stars series in November 2015. Tendulkar was playing in the US for the first time as part of the exhibition series, alongside several former international cricketers. While thousands of Indian fans in New York recognised him, many locals were unfamiliar with the cricket icon.
Tendulkar and the other cricketers were staying at a hotel in the middle of Times Square. While fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the Indian legend, the scale of the crowd left the local authorities scrambling to manage the situation.
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“On the first day of practice, there was a gridlock as around 200,000 Indians who live in New York came to see Sachin Tendulkar. The next day the NYPD had been sent down,” Swann said on a recent episode of the Stick to Cricket podcast.
“The police were doing a human chain to push the crowd out,” he added.
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Recalling the moment Tendulkar entered the hotel lobby, Swann said the crowd erupted, leaving a couple standing nearby curious about the commotion.
“I am in the lobby as Sachin comes down; the whole place goes mad,” Swann recalled.
The couple then asked him, “Hey buddy, who is this guy?”
“I went, oh, that's Sachin Tendulkar, he's like the Michael Jordan of cricket,” he said.
The couple's response, however, was unexpected. “Oh, I thought he'd be taller,” they replied.
The Cricket All-Stars was a three-match T20 exhibition series played in November 2015. The matches were held at Citi Field in New York, Minute Maid Park in Houston and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
The series marked the first time Tendulkar and former Australian spinner Shane Warne played in the United States. Swann featured alongside Tendulkar for Sachin's Blasters during the tournament.
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