His batting was like magic for Team India. Now his pen is equally doing wonders. Ask Sudhir Gautam, one of India’s most well-known cricket fans, whose body painted in the tricolour makes him stand out among millions of Tendulkar fans. In Auckland on Sunday, Sudhir was in dire straits with New Zealand Customs officials when a letter from the Little Master saved him.

All those coming to New Zealand for the first time are sufficiently warned about the strict immigration rules that are in place for tourists from all over the world. No fruits, no eatables, no sweets, no liquid, no dirt, or mud, in the shoes. One may or may not agree with it but if you want to come to New Zealand then you have to follow the rule of the land. Thus, even Harbhajan Singh was once fined NZ$500 because his white cricket shoes had a thick layer of mud stuck to it.

Sachin Tendulkar’s letter rescues fan in New Zealand:

When Indian cricket team superfan Sudhir Gautam landed at the Auckland International Airport on Sunday morning, his body paint bottles of orange, white and green were confiscated by the custom officials. Not just that, he was also told that he would have to pay a fine of NZ$1,400 (approx 65,000 rupees), for violating the law.  He was a worried man as he did not have that much money with him.

Sudhir said: “I was shell-shocked. I pleaded with them that I did not have that much money. I told them that I am a fan of Team India who paints himself in the national colours and goes everywhere. The officials said they understood all that, but rules were rules and they were meant to be followed. They told me that I had broken the law and I had to pay up?”

The Bihar-born fan quickly realised that he had a letter from Sachin Tendulkar, which had helped him get an Australian visa for the 2015 World Cup. He showed the same to the Customs officials and was allowed to go without paying a fine.

“It was then that I showed them the letter that ‘Sachin Sir’ wrote to me. I show that letter to the embassies whenever I apply for a visa. It worked like magic. They looked at me again and said, ‘okay, go ahead’. It was such a relief,” he added.