RICHARDSON — Several dozen kids — heights ranging from three to six feet — line up on the UT Dallas cricket field, creating a guard of honor as the sun slowly rises Sunday morning.
Many are holding bats in anticipation. They all wear matching white shirts emblazoned with the logo for the Dallas-based National Cricket League.
Why all the fuss? Sachin Tendulkar, “the God of Cricket,” is about to enter the oval.
“He’s coming, he’s coming!” one child yells.
Along the boundary, the adults wait, maybe even more excited than the youngsters. Several Indian national team jerseys are spotted in the crowd. Adults and children alike chant “Sa-chin, Sa-chin,” as “The Little Master” enters.
The chant is a common refrain anytime Tendulkar stands on a field. Cricket venues in India regularly pack in tens of thousands, but today just a couple hundred greet the legendary batsman with the same passion.
Called “the Michael Jordan of Cricket” by organizers, the moniker is no exaggeration. Tendulkar, 51, played for India from 1989 to 2013 and is considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time in the world’s second most popular sport. He is the all-time runs leader in international play with more than 30,000 runs scored across Test matches and One Day Internationals (ODI).
He has nearly 90 million combined Instagram and X followers. His celebrity is akin to any modern-day American athlete. About 200 people were on hand Sunday for a glimpse at cricket legend.
Tendulkar is a co-owner of the National Cricket League, which is playing its inaugural Sixty Strikes tournament at UTD in Richardson. The university’s cricket field was revamped to add lights, bleachers and VIP suites to accommodate the event.
North Texas has been the epicenter of cricket’s push to make a mark in the United States. The NCL is now the second nascent league to make the area its home. Major League Cricket, a T20 professional league, played most of its first season in Grand Prairie last summer.
Grand Prairie Stadium hosted T20 World Cup matches in June as a major international cricket tournament was played in the United States for the first time. The stadium was the site of the United States’ massive upset win over historic powerhouse Pakistan.
The NCL tournament began Oct. 4 and concludes Monday night with Tendulkar set to present the championship trophy. Ahead of the final match, Tendulkar made an appearance at the UTD oval to meet some fans and spend time with a group of young cricketers from North Texas.
“I enjoy doing this, it reminds me of my childhood when I wanted to go on the field and hit the ball as long as I could and enjoy cricket,” Tendulkar said. “That is the enthusiasm I am experiencing now and enthusiasm leads to a lot of good things in life. I could feel that energy there with all the children.”
Tendulkar said the best part was seeing a strong contingent of young female cricket players. He lauded their technical ability saying they were “surprisingly good.”
“[Tendulkar] is the first player I knew when I started with cricket,” said 14-year-old Chinmayi Arivuselvan. “My dad is a huge cricket fan and he loves him.”
Arivuselvan said it was an amazing opportunity to have Tendulkar come and spend time with them. At one point, she was batting when Tendulkar came up and gave her a few words of encouragement.
“He said, ‘I like your grip and the way you’re playing. You’re doing very well,’” Arivuselvan recalled with a big smile. “That felt amazing coming from him.”
The interaction was one of several for Tendulkar on Sunday morning. He spent about 35 minutes chatting with the kids and offering advice while they played. He also got involved, bowling the ball to some of the players.
Tendulkar, who attended the Red River Rivalry Saturday at the Cotton Bowl, said this weekend was his first time in Dallas. He added that he’s excited about the future for the NCL and its accelerated Sixty Strikes format, headed by NCL Chairman Arun Agarwal.
“When my team was speaking to Arun, we felt that this is the right spot to be and start a new journey from here,” Tendulkar said. “We’re trying to make the sport globalized and since it’s going to be a part of the Olympics in 2028, it starts from here.”
