‘It was a crocodile’ – Sourav Ganguly recalls Sachin Tendulkar’s epic prank in Nairobi

Sachin Tendulkar is remembered for his exemplary batting on the field of play, but he is quite the prankster off it. Sourav Ganguly, who spent several years in the Indian team alongside Tendulkar, recalled an incident when the Master Blaster pranked him into eating crocodile meat instead of chicken.

In ODI history, Ganguly and Tendulkar still have the most runs among all opening pairs. They amassed 6,609 runs from 136 innings at a staggering average of 49.32. Their camaraderie went beyond the field, as they were room partners on several tours during their illustrious careers.

In a recent appearance on a cooking channel hosted by the celebrity chef, Sanjyot Keer, Ganguly praised Tendulkar’s values, mentioning that his father was a teacher who instilled great values in the legendary cricketer. However, the Prince of Bengal recalled a prank that Tendulkar pulled on him during a tour to the capital city Nairobi, in Kenya. The Little Master wanted to try crocodile meat, but Ganguly wasn’t on the same page.

Regardless, the legendary right-handed batter asked the chef to prepare crocodile meat and instructed him to say it was chicken while placing the dish on the table.

Watch the viral video of Ganguly sharing about Nairobi food incident here:

When Tendulkar pranked Ganguly with non-veg cuisine in Kenya

In a twist in the culinary tale, Tendulkar revealed that it was crocodile meat and not chicken only after Ganguly had finished eating. When the host asked Ganguly how he reacted to the prank, the former India skipper said that he couldn’t say anything, as he would have been dropped from the team. The former BCCI president concluded by acknowledging Tendulkar as a great human being.

Also Read: ‘If I became a Sardar, nobody will recognise me’ – Sourav Ganguly reveals story behind disguised attire during Durga Puja

“I wasn’t just his opening partner; I was his partner in mischief, hobbies, and everything else. He wasn’t able to do too much mischief as the camera would follow him wherever he would go. He came from a very good family. His father was a teacher, so his life values are too good. His mischief was food. When we went to Nairobi in Kenya, there was a big restaurant, I don’t remember the name, I’ll tell you soon. All meats were available there. He wanted to have crocodile meat, and he knew that I wasn’t going to eat it,” Ganguly told celebrity chef Keer in a video released by his YouTube channel, Your Food Lab.

“He asked the chef to make good crocodile meat and while placing it on the table, say that it’s chicken. So he put it on the table and we ate it. We didn’t even realise. In the end, Tendulkar asked how the food was. I told him ‘It’s very good, chicken here is very good’. He told me it was a crocodile. [On how he reacted] I didn’t say anything. I would have been dropped from the team had I said anything. I told him the food was good. But he is a great human being,” Ganguly concluded.

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