Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar appreciated the courage shown by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Nitish Rana and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) opener Mandeep Singh despite the loss of their family member.

Nitish lost his father-in-law, Surinder Marwah, due to cancer, and Mandeep took the field after losing his father Hardev Singh on Friday. The KXIP batsman was included in the side after Mayank Agarwal suffered an injury. He kept the pain aside and turned up for the game to fulfill the need of his team.

Sachin was impressed by the youngsters and he took to Twitter to post his message for them. "Loss of a loved one hurts, but what's more heartbreaking is when one doesn't get to say a final goodbye. Praying for @mandeeps12, @NitishRana_27, and their families to heal from this tragedy. Hats off for turning up today. Well played," Tendulkar tweeted. 

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The ex-India batsman could relate to the situation as he played for India despite losing his father during the 1999 World Cup. He missed the match against Zimbabwe to attend the funeral of his father and then scored a century against Kenya on return.

Rana scored 81 off 53 balls against Delhi Capitals (DC) and dedicated the knock to his late father-in-law Surinder. He flaunted the KKR jersey with his late father-in-law's name on it.

The entire KXIP side was seen wearing black armbands in Mandeep's father honor in the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.