'Who is this boy? Itni achi batting kar raha hai' - When Sachin Tendulkar hailed Sushant Singh Rajput for his batting

When a biopic movie on MS Dhoni was announced back in 2015, there was a lot of skepticism whether any Bollywood actor will be able to perform the character properly or not. When the movie came out in 2016, people were in awe of Sushant Singh Rajput, who had nailed the role of the Indian cricketer in the movie.

On Sunday, the actor passed away at the age of 34. He was found dead in his Bandra home and police have alleged suicide as the cause of death. The role of MS Dhoni will forever stay as one of the most memorable roles of the actor.

A lot of people might not know this but the actor was quite a good cricketer himself. Former Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More was assigned the job to train him as a cricketer. In an interaction, the former chief selector of the Indian team revealed how Sachin Tendulkar reacted when he saw Sushant batting for the first time.

“I remember the moment when Sachin Tendulkar was left stunned when he saw Sushant Singh batting. Sushant was working on a biopic of MS Dhoni and I was asked by the director Neeraj Pandey and the producer Arun Pandey to coach him on wicketkeeping and batting. A few weeks into the training, I remember Sushant practicing the famous Helicopter shot of Dhoni. That’s when Tendulkar came to the training ground at BKC Bandra, a Mumbai suburb,” More told Indian Express.

He can play proper professional cricket: Sachin Tendulkar

The actor had nailed MS Dhoni’s mannerisms quite perfectly. From Dhoni’s batting style to his helicopter shot, Sushant had learned a great deal and executed it brilliantly. More revealed that Tendulkar in fact praised Sushant’s batting skills after watching him practice. Sachin even added that the actor could play the game professionally.

“Tendulkar was watching from the gallery and when I met him later, after practice, he asked me, “who is this boy? He is batting so well. Itni achi batting kar raha hai!” I told him that it’s the actor Sushant, who is preparing for a biopic on Dhoni. Tendulkar was so shocked and said, “he can play proper professional cricket if he wants to. He seems that good,” More added.