10 off-field friendships between on-field rivals
Sport is all about bringing people together. Over the years, some of the fiercest rivals from the cricket field have come to become the best of friends off it. It's hard to imagine such bitter competitors forging beautiful human bonds away from the playing arena, and therefore always an interesting story for the fans.With the advent of the IPL, nowadays we are seeing lots of perennial competitors across the international scene become hang-out buddies, and conversely – teammates become rivals.Following is a look at a few poignant cricketing friendships:
#1 Sachin Tendulkar - Shane Warne
More than a decade of rivalry on the cricket pitch. Whenever the two came up against each other, the backdrop of India-vs Australia faded into soft-focus and people had eyes mainly for the famed duel. From Test series home and away, to World Cups, to tournaments like Sharjah 1997, charity events and even the IPL, the two legends have faced off against each other in all varieties of circumstances. However off the field they’ve remained friends for just as long and beyond.
Personality-wise the two probably couldn’t have been more different. The Little Master with quiet, modest, Indian middle-class values, a family man and known for avoiding controversies. The Aussie maverick a dashing blonde rebel, with a flamboyant personality off the field and an amazing panache for attracting scandal.
Yet the two have remained the best of friends and have gone on record many times about their mutual respect and admiration.
“A lot of people have said, quite flatteringly, that we are the best batter and bowler of our generation. It is nice to be in that company but it is even more special that away from it all we have got to know each other and his friendship is important to me and something I respect.
I have had some great times at his house with his family and some quite interesting dinners together. He is a fascinating man to talk to with wide interests. We would sit at his house with earphones on listening to Mark Knopfler playing the guitar and we would also share information about opposition teams and players. We would talk tactics about the game.
We had a lot of battles on the field and generally he won. I got him out three times in 12 Tests and most of the time it felt like his testimonial whenever he played against Australia because he would just make another hundred.“ – Warne.
" It was always a challenge to play him. Even if he was not having a good day and bowling the last over, you knew Warnie was up to something... Warnie just won't let you bat peacefully." – Sachin.