What happened that Sachin Tendulkar said, ‘It feels as if I have lost 10 kg of blood’

By Samira Vishwas On Dec 22, 2025

Virat Kohli said, ‘Today, we have lost a legend of Indian cinema, who captivated every heart with his charm and talent. A true icon, who inspired everyone.

Sachin Tendulkar said, ‘I too, like many others, quickly became crazy about Dharmendra ji, the actor. His all-round talent entertained us a lot. That on-screen relationship, off-screen became even stronger when I met him. It was surprising to see the energy inside him. He always used to say to me, my blood increases by one kilo after seeing you. His natural warmth made everyone around him feel very special. It feels like I have lost 10 kg of blood. Will miss you a lot.

Many Pakistani cricketers also paid emotional tribute to him and described him as a global legend. ‘Dharmendra ji was a great hero, and Sholay will always be an all-time classic. He has left a very special legacy and was very popular in Pakistan as well,” said former captain Rashid Latif.

Dharmendra himself was a big fan of cricket and used to regularly follow the Indian cricket team. Many times the players were praised for their performance. Once he shared a picture of his meeting with Sachin Tendulkar in a flight on social media and captioned it, ‘Today I suddenly met Sachin, the pride of the country, in an airplane. Whenever I met Sachin, I always met him as my beloved son… keep living. Love you, Sachin.

Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir also remembered him and told that Dharmendra was the most favorite actor in his house. There was no one else like his personality.

Mohammad Siraj Will never forget them too. India’s historic match against Australia in 2021 test series Upon the win, Dharmendra praised the Indian pacer wholeheartedly, not only for his brilliant bowling but also for his emotional strength. You might remember that Siraj’s father had died during this tour but Siraj did not return home, stayed with the team and fulfilled his father’s dream of playing Test cricket. Siraj took 13 wickets in the series and helped India win the series 2-1.

When Siraj returned to India, he went straight to Khairatabad cemetery from Hyderabad airport and paid homage at his father’s grave. This made Dharmendra very emotional and he wrote an emotional note, ‘Siraj, brave son of India, love you… I am proud of you, with the shock of your father’s death in your heart, you kept playing matches for the pride of the country… and returned after registering an unprecedented victory in the name of the country… I felt filled with joy after seeing you at your father’s grave yesterday.’

PT Usha, one of India’s greatest athletes and known as the country’s ‘Queen of Track and Field’, won a total of 23 medals, of which 14 were gold. Now she is also an MP and President of India Olympic Association. She even revealed a secret while paying tribute to the late actor and told that when she returned after winning 4 gold and 1 silver in the Seoul Asian Games in 1986, the Bollywood legend had sent her a check of Rs 50,000 as a mark of appreciation. As of today, this amounts to approximately Rs 4.26 lakh. The most important thing is that the check was sent silently, the media did not get any news, there was no publicity nor was it ever mentioned. If this is not a sign of his humility and true love for the game, then what is? PT Usha now regrets that she herself never met Dharmendra, ‘We could never meet due to our respective schedules but sometimes love and affection are enough to keep hearts connected even 1000 miles apart.’

Remembering him, veteran film star Sharmila Tagore wrote, ‘Stardom makes people so big that they forget everyone. Dharmendra, on the contrary, remained human and became even greater because of it. Both of them worked together in many films. He also has a cricket story.

This is about the India-West Indies Kolkata Test which was played from 31 December 1966 to 5 January 1967. The last day of the Test was the birthday of Indian captain Tiger (Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi). In those days, Sharmila Tagore was dating Pataudi and herself wanted to wish him a happy birthday in Kolkata. Then he and Dharmendra were shooting for the film Mere Humdum Mere Dost.

Sharmila wanted to take a flight from Mumbai in the morning and reach Kolkata for Tiger’s birthday, but at the same time she did not want that her sudden absence would cause loss to the producer or the work would be stopped because there was an expensive set installed in the studio. A way was found to shoot the entire last night but for this it was necessary for Dharmendra to agree. Sharmila talked Dharmendra into working the whole night and he agreed. Both continued shooting till 7 in the morning. No noise, never made a story out of it and never even mentioned the problem of working all night. With this help, Sharmila reached Tiger by early morning flight without any regret of causing trouble or loss to the producer.