Ibrahim Zadran took a moment after scoring his maiden ODI World Cup hundred to thank legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar for his guidance that helped him score the century.
Notably, Zadran scored an unbeaten hundred against the five-time ODI World Cup winners Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the 39th game of the ongoing ODI World Cup and also became the first Afghan player to score an ODI World Cup ton.
While speaking to the broadcasters after the end of Afghanistan's innings, Zadran thanked Sachin for his words of wisdom. Sachin had turned up at the Wankhede on the eve of the Australia versus Afghanistan clash and interacted with the Afghan players.
After conversing with the Afghan players, he also had a chat with his former India teammate Ajay Jadeja, who is currently mentoring the Afghanistan cricket team. The 'Master Blaster' was also seen engaging in a conversation with Afghanistan's head coach Jonathan Trott.
Sachin's words seem to have rubbed off well on Zadran, in particular, as the 21-year-old extended his gratitude towards the "God of Cricket".
"I had a good chat with Sachin Tendulkar; he shared his experience and I said before the match that I will bat like Sachin Tendulkar; he gave me a lot of energy and confidence," Zadran told the broadcaster.
Afghanistan's playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq
Bench:
Fazalhaq Farooqi, Najibullah Zadran, Abdul Rahman, Riaz Hassan
Support staff:
Jonathan Trott, Hamid Hassan, Ryan Maron, Raees Ahmadzai
Australia's playing XI:
Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Bench:
Cameron Green, Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Steven Smith
Support staff:
Andrew McDonald, Andre Borovec, Daniel Vettori, Michael Di Venuto, Andy Flower
