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Did you know? Long before he became India’s greatest cricket icon, Sachin Tendulkar had a unique connection with the Pakistani cricket team. In 1987, at the age of just 13, the young Mumbai schoolboy briefly took the field as a substitute fielder for Pakistan during a tour match against India at the Brabourne Stadium. It remains one of the most unusual stories from his early cricket journey.
The incident happened during a match between India and Pakistan. Opposing captain Imran Khan’s side needed substitute fielders after lunch as some players, including Javed Miandad and Abdul Qadir, were off the field.
Then Pakistan captain Imran Khan would approach Hemant Kenkre, who was the captain of the Cricket Club of India back then, to let some of the local boys help them with fielding.
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Sachin, who was present at the ground as one of the young cricketers helping around the match, was asked to field for the visitors. Without hesitation, he walked onto the field in Pakistan’s colours.
18 year old Sachin Tendulkar scored a whirlwind 107 off 69 balls for Yorkshire against Lancashire in a 1992 Sunday League One day match.
A 33-ball fifty and a 69-ball hundred must be quite something in 1992 even in county. #OnThisDay in 1992. pic.twitter.com/Ndl8QJjbQG
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) August 2, 2026
At that stage, nobody could have imagined that the teenager would go on to become one of the greatest batters the game has ever seen.
Sachin later recalled the moment in his autobiography, saying he even tried to catch a skier from Kapil Dev but could not reach the ball because it landed well beyond him. Despite not getting involved much in the game, the experience left a lasting impression on the youngster.
On his autobiography named ‘Playing it my way’, Sachin Tendulkar claimed that then Pakistan skipper Imran Khan didn’t even know if the Indian teenager once fielded for them in an exhibition match.
“I don’t know whether Imran Khan remembers this or has any idea that I once fielded for his Pakistan team,” Sachin Tendulkar wrote on his autobiography.
Just two years later, the same boy returned to face Pakistan as an Indian cricketer. In November 1989, a 16-year-old Tendulkar made his international debut in Karachi against a fearsome bowling attack that included Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Abdul Qadir in a Test match at Karachi. It marked the beginning of an international career that lasted 24 years and changed the history of Indian cricket forever.
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Against Pakistan, the Master Blaster scored a total of 1057 runs in 18 matches from 1989 to 2007 with a highest of 194 not-out and an average of 42.28 along with 2 centuries and 7 half-centuries.
17 years old. Lord’s. One-handed. On the run.
Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) produced one of the greatest catches in cricket history on this day in 1990. A moment that still leaves fans in awe.
#OnThisDay pic.twitter.com/yDc0sbt2dQ
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) July 30, 2026
Sachin Tendulkar’s illustrious career in numbers
Sachin finished his international career with numbers that may never be matched. Across 664 international matches, he scored a total of 34,357 runs at an average of over 48. He remains the only batter to register 100 international centuries, 51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs.
He also became the first player to score a double century in men’s ODI cricket, achieved against South Africa in 2010. Tendulkar played 200 Test matches, the most by any cricketer and won the 2011 ODI World Cup with India, fulfilling his biggest dream after more than two decades in international cricket.
In the ODI format, Sachin scored 18,426 runs whereas in the longest format of the game, the former India captain amassed 15,921 runs including a record 51 centuries and 68 half-centuries.