Mumbai: Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday recalled how playing County cricket laid a strong foundation for his career.
The veteran of 200 Tests played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in England his name was recommended by an England-based businessman Solly Adam.
Speaking through a video testimonial at the biography launch of Solly Adam: Beyond Boundaries, Tendulkar said, "I remember when you called me in 1992 when I had returned from Australia; your first question to me was would you like to play county cricket and I jumped right into this offer. "
"It was an amazing opportunity for a 19-year-old me to play county cricket. I didn't realise the difficulties that come with living alone. But, you and your family made me feel like home. Those were very important years of my career and laid a solid foundation for my career. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for everything that you have done for me during that time and beyond," recalled the former right-handed batter.
The book, penned by Vara Vantapati, was launched at the Cricket Club of India by former India opener Sunil Gavaskar. Solly Adam, a Yorkshire cricket legend, had a tremendous cricket journey from India to Yorkshire.
Adam,78, assisted Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) in signing Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar back in 1991, making history as the club's first overseas player. He recommended Tendulkar to the Yorkshire Committee, and the then-19-year-old Tendulkar stayed with Solly and his family for much of that season.
Sachin Tendulkar is just one of more than 400 players Solly Adam has mentored over the years, many of whom went on to become international stars such as VVS Laxman, Vinod Kambli and Wasim Jaffer.
Sunil Gavaskar said, "The game of cricket is very fortunate to have people like Solly Bhai. The kind of service he has done to young cricketers from both India and Pakistan – giving them stay and food for 5-6 months that they came to play in the leagues, just tells you his love for the game."
Solly Adam, a left-arm spinner who played Minor Counties for Cumberland, and who captained Batley and Spen Victoria with great success, also helped a lot of local Yorkshire cricketers such as pace bowler Paul Jarvis, who went on to play 9 Tests and 16 ODIs for England.
