Tendulkar reveals how he conned a secretary to get VVS Laxman visit a doctor

The great man was present at the launch of Laxman's book "281 and Beyond."

There is a genuinely special bond between two of India's greatest | Getty

Present at the launch of his book 281 and Beyond in Mumbai on Thursday, November 22, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar shared an insight into his warm relationship with the affable VVS Laxman.

The great man revealed how he once helped the classical right-hander recover from an injury by ensuring that he sneak past a secretary, in order to visit a doctor as Laxman didn’t actually have an appointment for same.

The incident from 2010 took place in Munich, Germany where both the cricketers had travelled to see a doctor for their respective injuries.

“We were there for almost two days and the doctor was refusing to meet Laxman and I wasn’t even sure whether the secretary was even informing the doctor or not," Tendulkar said, "So, finally I told Laxman, we have been waiting for too long, let’s use some other method."

"I decided I will go inside and tell the doctor an emotional story and then he will meet Laxman and it actually worked that way because the doctor was unaware of all this."

"I told him I have got a friend whose career is at stake and you have to see him, he’s come all the way from India to meet you, so he said fine bring him in, then I sneaked him in because the secretary was not allowing," he added.

This is when VVS reiterated the importance of Tendulkar's call and said, "We tried first two days and nothing happened and then on third day Sachin got a wine bottle for the secretary but she wasn’t ready to listen at all. Then on the fourth day, he said as and when I go to meet the doctor you just come and stand behind me because the secretary won’t know as she had her own cabin. All I did was follow Sachin and the moment the doctor came, Sachin was like 'doc this is my friend Laxman'."

"And the doctor didn’t do anything, he was like 'Laxman go into the cabin' and the secretary was furious,” he further said with a laughter, “It was an important treatment for me because when he saw my MRI and reports then he said if my treatment doesn’t work for you then I think it’s important for you to stop playing the game of cricket.”

There is a great sense of respect and love for each other among the two, as Tendulkar also talked about a moment from his captaincy tenure in 1997 on the tour of South Africa and said, “In 1997, when we went to South Africa, I was the captain and Laxman was in the team. I still remember he got hit on his knuckle in Johannesburg and he broke his finger. In those days dressing room was slightly different. He was sitting right in the corner facing the wall and hiding his face. I went to him to talk with him and his eyes were red. I told him, ‘Laxman you are too good a player. Injuries will happen, this is not your first or last injury.’ He had shown lot of promise on that tour and was an integral part of the team. I genuinely wanted him to stay back,”

"He was prepared to do everything, including taking injections to stay on the tour, where else I have heard many stories of cricketers who want to leave after watching the ground and conditions,” he signed off.

(Inputs from PTI)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 23 Nov, 2018

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