Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar ( Hindi सचिन रमेश तेंदुलकर |ⁱ/ˌsətʃɪn tɛnˈduːlkər/; born 24 April 1973) is a former Indian cricketer widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of the modern generation, popularly holds the title "God of Cricket" among his fans  He is also acknowledged as the greatest cricketer of all time. He took up cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test debut against Pakistan at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai domestically and India internationally for close to twenty-four years. He is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket. In October 2013, he became the 16th player and first Indian to aggregate 50,000 runs in all recognized cricket (first-class,List A and Twenty20 combined).

In 2002, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Don Bradman, and the second greatest ODI batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards.^[16] Later in his career, Tendulkar was a part of the Indian team that won the 2011 World Cup, his first win in six World Cupappearances for India.He had previously been named "Player of the Tournament" at the 2003 edition of the tournament, held in South Africa. In 2013, he was the only Indian cricketer included in an all-time Test World XI named to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

Tendulkar received the Arjuna Award in 1994 for outstanding sporting achievement, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1997, India's highest sporting honour, and thePadma Shri and Padma Vibhushan awards in 1999 and 2008, respectively, India's fourth and second highest civilian awards and within a few hours of ending of his final match on 16 November 2013, the Prime Minister's Office announced the decision to award Tendulkar with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, making him the youngest recipient to date and the first ever sportsperson to receive the award.^[22][23] He also won the 2010 Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for cricketer of the year at the ICC awards. In 2012, Tendulkar was nominated to Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. He was also the first sportsperson (and the first without an aviation background) to be awarded the honorary rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force. In 2012, he was named an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia.

In December 2012, Tendulkar announced his retirement from ODIs. He retired from Twenty20 cricket in October 2013, and subsequently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, retiring on 16 November 2013 after playing his 200th and final Test match, against the West Indies in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs. 

Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar at an awards event in January 2013
Personal information
Full name	Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born	24 April 1973 (age 40) Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Nickname	Tendlya, God of Cricket, Little Master, Master Blaster
Height	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm medium, leg break, off break
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	India
Test debut(cap 187)	15 November 1989 v Pakistan
Last Test	14 November 2013 v West Indies
ODI debut(cap 74)	18 December 1989 v Pakistan
Last ODI	18 March 2012 v Pakistan
ODI shirt no.	10
Only T20I(cap 11)	1 December 2006 v South Africa
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1988	Cricket Club of India
1988–2013	Mumbai
1992	Yorkshire
2008–2013	Mumbai Indians
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 200 463 310 551 Runs scored 15,921 18,426 25,396 21,999 Batting average 53.79 44.83 57.92 45.54 100s/50s 51/68 49/96 81/116 60/114 Top score 248* 200* 248* 200* Balls bowled 4,240 8,054 7,563 10,230 Wickets 46 154 71 201 Bowling average 54.17 44.48 62.18 42.17 5 wickets in innings 0 2 0 2 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a

Early years

Tendulkar was born at Nirmal Nursing Home on 24 April 1973. His father, Ramesh Tendulkar, was a well-known Marathi novelist and his mother, Rajni, worked in the insurance industry.Ramesh named Tendulkar after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman. Tendulkar has three elder siblings: two half-brothers Nitin and Ajit, and a half-sister Savita. They were Ramesh's children from his first marriage.He spent his formative years in the Sahitya Sahawas Cooperative Housing Society, Bandra (East). As a young boy, Tendulkar was considered a bully, and often picked up fights with new children in his school. He also showed an interest in tennis, idolising John McEnroe. To help curb his mischievous and bullying tendencies, Ajit introduced him to cricket in 1984. He introduced the young Sachin to Ramakant Achrekar, a famous cricket coach and a club cricketer of repute, at Shivaji Park, Dadar. In the first meeting, the young Sachin did not play his best. Ajit told Achrekar that he was feeling self-conscious due to the coach observing him, and wasn't displaying his natural game. Ajit requested the coach to give him another chance at playing, but watch while hiding behind a tree. This time, Sachin, apparently unobserved, played much better and was accepted at Achrekar's academy. Ajit is ten years elder and is credited by Sachin for playing a pivotal role in his life.

Sachin with his father, mother and two elder brothers.

Achrekar was impressed with Tendulkar's talent and advised him to shift his schooling to Sharadashram Vidyamandir (English) High School, a school at Dadar which had a dominant cricket team and had produced many notable cricketers.Prior to this, Tendulkar had attended the Indian Education Society's New English School in Bandra (East). He was also coached under the guidance of Achrekar at Shivaji Park in the mornings and evenings.Tendulkar would practice for hours on end in the nets. If he became exhausted, Achrekar would put a one-rupee coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Tendulkar now considers the 13 coins he won then as some of his most prized possessions. He moved in with his aunt and uncle, who lived near Shivaji Park, during this period, due to his hectic schedule.

Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali

Meanwhile at school, he developed a reputation as a child prodigy. He had become a common conversation point in local cricketing circles, where there were suggestions already that he would become one of the greats. Sachin consistently featured in his school Shardashram Vidyamandir (English) team in Matunga Gujarati Seva Mandal (popularly coined MGSM) Shield. Besides school cricket, he also played club cricket, initially representing John Bright Cricket Club in Mumbai's premier club cricket tournament, the Kanga League, and later went on to play for the Cricket Club of India.In 1987, at the age of 14, he attended the MRF Pace Foundation in Madras (now Chennai) to train as a fast bowler, but Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, who took a world record 355 Test wickets, was unimpressed, suggesting that Tendulkar focus on his batting instead. On January 20, 1987, he also turned out as substitute for Imran Khan's side in an exhibition game at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, to mark the golden jubilee of Cricket Club of India. A couple of months later, former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar gave him a pair of his own ultra light pads and consoled him to not get disheartened for not getting the Mumbai Cricket Association's "Best junior cricket award"(He was 14 years that time). "It was the greatest source of encouragement for me," Tendulkar said nearly 20 years later after surpassing Gavaskar's world record of 34 Test centuries. Sachin served as a ballboy in 1987 Cricket World Cup when India played against England in the semifinal in Mumbai.His season in 1988 was extraordinary, with Tendulkar scoring a century in every innings he played. He was involved in an unbroken 664-run partnership in a Lord Harris Shield inter-school game against St. Xavier's High School in 1988 with his friend and team-mate Vinod Kambli, who would also go on to represent India. The destructive pair reduced one bowler to tears and made the rest of the opposition unwilling to continue the game. Tendulkar scored 326 (not out) in this innings and scored over a thousand runs in the tournament.This was a record partnership in any form of cricket until 2006, when it was broken by two under-13 batsmen in a match held at Hyderabad in India.

Early domestic career

On 14 November 1987, Tendulkar was selected to represent Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, India's premier domestic first-class cricket tournament, for the 1987–88 season. However, he was not selected for the final eleven in any of the matches, though he was often used as a substitute fielder.^[37] He narrowly missed out playing alongside his idol Gavaskar, who had retired from all forms of cricket after the1987 Cricket World Cup. A year later, on 11 December 1988, aged just 15 years and 232 days, Tendulkar made his debut for Mumbai against Gujarat at home and scored 100 not out in that match, making him the youngest Indian to score a century on first-class debut. He was handpicked to play for the team by the then Mumbai captain Dilip Vengsarkar after watching him easily negotiating India's best fast bowler at the time, Kapil Dev, in the Wankhede Stadium nets,where the Indian team had come to play against the touring New Zealand team. He followed this by scoring a century in his first Deodhar and Duleep Trophies, which are also Indian domestic tournaments.

Tendulkar finished the 1988–89 season as Mumbai's highest run-scorer.He also made an unbeaten century in the Irani Trophy match against Delhi at the start of the 1989–90 season, playing for the Rest of India. Sachin was picked for young Indian team to tour England twice,under the Star Cricket Club banner in 1988 and 1989.

His first double century (204*) was for Mumbai while playing against the visiting Australian team at the Brabourne Stadium in 1998.He is the only player to score a century on debut in all three of his domestic first-class tournaments (the Ranji, Irani, and Duleep Trophies).Another double century was an innings of 233* against Tamil Nadu in the semi-finals of the 2000 Ranji Trophy, which he regards as one of the best innings of his career.

Yorkshire

In 1992, at the age of 19, Tendulkar became the first overseas-born player to represent Yorkshire, which prior to Tendulkar joining the team, never selected players even from other English counties. Selected for Yorkshire as a replacement for the injured Australian fast bowler Craig McDermott, Tendulkar played 16 first-class matches for the county and scored 1070 runs at an average of 46.52.

International career

Early career

Raj Singh Dungarpur is credited for the selection of Tendulkar for the Indian tour of Pakistan in late 1989, and that also after just one first class season.The Indian selection committee had shown interest in selecting Tendulkar for the tour of the West Indies held earlier that year, but eventually did not select him, as they did not want him to be exposed to the dominant fast bowlers of the West Indies so early in his career. Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989 aged just 16 years and 205 days. He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match, but was noted for how he handled numerous blows to his body at the hands of the Pakistani pace attack. In the fourth and final Test in Sialkot, he was hit on the nose by a bouncer bowled by Younis, but he declined medical assistance and continued to bat even as he gushed blood from it. In a 20 over exhibition game in Peshawar, held in parallel with the bilateral series, Tendulkar made 53 runs off 18 balls, including an over in which he scored 27 runs off leg-spinner Abdul Qadir. This was later called "one of the best innings I have seen" by the then Indian captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth. In all, he scored 215 runs at an average of 35.83 in the Test series, and was dismissed without scoring a run in the only One Day International (ODI) he played.Thus Sachin Tendulkar became the youngest player to debut for India in Tests at the age of 16 years and 205 days and also the youngest player to debut for India in ODIs at the age of 16 years and 238 days. 

The series was followed by a tour of New Zealand in which he scored 117 runs at an average of 29.25 in Tests including an innings of 88 in the second Test. He was dismissed without scoring in one of the two one-day games he played, and scored 36 in the other.On his next tour, to England in July–August 1990, he became the second youngest cricketer to score a Test century as he made 119 not out in the second Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. 

Tendulkar further enhanced his reputation as a future great during the 1991–1992 tour of Australia held before the 1992 Cricket World Cup, that included an unbeaten 148 in the third Test Sydney and 114 on a fast, bouncing pitch in the final Test at Perth against a world-class pace attack comprising Merv Hughes, Bruce Reid and Craig McDermott. Hughes commented to Allan Border at the time that "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB." 

Rise through the ranks

Tendulkar's performance through the years 1994–1999 coincided with his physical peak, in his early twenties. On the day of the Hindu festival Holi, Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994. He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. He scored his first ODI century on 9 September 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It took him 79 ODIs to score his first century.

Tendulkar waits at the bowler's end.

Tendulkar's rise continued when he was the leading run scorer at the 1996 World Cup, scoring two centuries. He was the only Indian batsman to perform in the infamous semi-final against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar fell amid a batting collapse and the match referee, Clive Lloyd awarded Sri Lanka the match after the crowd began rioting and throwing litter onto the field.

After the World Cup, in the same year against Pakistan at Sharjah, Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was going through a lean patch. Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu both made centuries to set a then record partnership for the second wicket. After getting out, Tendulkar found Azharuddin in two minds about whether he should bat. Tendulkar convinced Azharuddin to bat and Azharuddin subsequently unleashed 29 runs in a mere 10 balls. It enabled India to post a score in excess of 300 runs for the first time in an ODI. India went on to win that match.

This was the beginning of a period at the top of the batting world, culminating in the Australian tour of India in early 1998, with Tendulkar scoring three consecutive centuries. The focus was on the clash of the titans: Sachin Tendulkar vs Shane Warne the world’s most dominating batsman and the world’s leading spinner, both at the peak of their careers, clashing in a full-fledged Test series after 7 long years . In the lead-up to the series, Tendulkar famously simulated scenarios in the nets with Laxman Sivaramakrishnan the former India leg spinner donning the role of Warne. In their tour opener, Australia faced the then Ranji Champions Mumbai at the Brabourne Stadiumin a 3-day first class match. Tendulkar made an unbeaten 204 as Shane Warne conceded 111 runs in 16 overs and Australia lost the match within 3 days.

He also had a role with the ball in the 5 match ODI series in India following the Tests, including a five wicket haul in an ODI in Kochi. Set 310 runs to win, Australia were cruising comfortably at 203 for 3 in the 31st over when Tendulkar turned the match for India taking wickets of Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Tom Moody and Damien Martyn for just 32 runs in 10 overs.

Tendulkar single-handedly won the ICC 1998 quarterfinal at Dhaka to pave way for India's entry into the semifinals, when he took four Australian wickets after scoring 141 runs in just 128 balls.

A chronic back problem flared up when Pakistan toured India in 1999, with India losing the historic Test at Chepauk despite a gritty century from Tendulkar himself. The worst was yet to come as Professor Ramesh Tendulkar, Tendulkar's father, died in the middle of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against Zimbabwe. However, he returned with a bang to the World cup scoring a century (unbeaten 140 off 101 balls) in his very next match against Kenya in Bristol. He dedicated this century to his father.

2007/08 tour of Australia

In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2007–08, Tendulkar showed exceptional form, becoming the leading run scorer with 493 runs in four Tests, despite consistently failing in the second innings. Sachin scored 62 runs in the first innings of the first Test at the MCG in Melbourne, but couldn't prevent a heavy 337-run win for Australia. In the controversial New Years Test at Sydney, Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 154 as India lost the Test. This was his third century at the SCG, earning him an average of 221.33 at the ground. In the third Test at the WACA cricket ground in Perth, Sachin was instrumental in India's first innings score of 330, scoring a well compiled 71, as India went on to record a historic triumph at the WACA. In the fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval, which ended in a draw, he scored 153 in the first innings, involving in a crucial 126 run stand with V.V.S. Laxman for the fifth wicket to lead India to a score of 282 for 5 from 156 for 4. He secured the Player of the Match award.

In the One-Day International Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series involving Sri Lanka and Australia, Tendulkar became the only batsman to complete 16,000 runs in ODIs. He achieved this feat against Sri Lanka on 5 February 2008 at the Gabba in Brisbane. He started the CB series well notching up scores of 10, 35, 44 and 32, but could not convert the starts into bigger scores. His form dipped a bit in the middle of the tournament, but Tendulkar came back strongly in India's must-win game against Sri Lanka at the Bellerive Ovalin Hobart, scoring 63 off 54 balls. He finished the series with a match winning 117 not out off 120 balls in the first final,and 91 runs in the second final.

ODI and Test Series against England

Tendulkar was again out due to injury from the first three ODIs of a 7-match ODI series at home against England, but he made 11 in the fourth ODI and 50 in the fifth, before the ODI series was called off due to the Mumbai terror attacks, the scoreline being 5–0 to India.

England returned for a 2-match test series in December 2008, and in the first test in Chennai, chasing 387 for victory, Tendulkar made 103 not out in a 163-run unbroken fifth wicket stand with Yuvraj Singh. This was his third century in a fourth match innings, and the first which resulted in a win. This was redemption for the Chennai Test of 1999 when chasing 271 against Pakistan, Sachin had made 136 with severe back pain and was out 17 runs short of the target, precipitating a collapse and a loss by 12 runs. He dedicated this century to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks. Tendulkar failed in both innings in the second test, India won the series 1–0.

100th international century

Tendulkar scored his much awaited 100th international hundred on 16 March 2012, at Mirpur against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup.He became the first person in history to achieve this feat. Incidentally, it was Tendulkar's first ODI hundred against Bangladesh. He said "It's been a tough phase for me ... I was not thinking about the milestone, the media started all this, wherever I went, the restaurant, room service, everyone was talking about the 100th hundred. Nobody talked about my 99 hundreds. It became mentally tough for me because nobody talked about my 99 hundreds." Despite Tendulkar's century, India failed to win the match against Bangladesh, losing by 5 wickets.

Retirement

Sachin fielding at 199th Test match inEden Gardens(he is seen wearing a hat)

Following poor performance in the 2012 series against England, Tendulkar announced his retirement from One Day Internationals on 23 December 2012, while noting that he will be available for Test cricket. In response to the news, former India captain Sourav Ganguly noted that Tendulkar could have played the up-coming series against Pakistan, while Anil Kumble said it would be "tough to see an Indian (ODI) team list without Tendulkar's name in it", and Javagal Srinath mentioned that Tendulkar "changed the way ODIs were played right from the time he opened in New Zealand in 1994".

After playing his lone Twenty20 International in 2006 against South Africa, he stated that he would not play T20 Internationals anymore.He announced his retirement from IPL after his team Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 26 May to win the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013. He retired from Twenty20 cricket and limited-overs cricket, after playing the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 in Sept-Oct 2013 in India for Mumbai Indians.

On 10 October 2013 Tendulkar announced that he would retire from all cricket after the two-Test series against West Indies in November.Later the BCCI confirmed that the two matches will be played at Kolkata and Mumbai, making the farewell happen at his home ground on Tendulkar's request. He scored 74 runs in his last test innings against West Indies, thus failing short by 79 runs to complete 16,000 runs in test cricket.The Cricket Association of Bengal and the Mumbai Cricket Association organized events to mark his retirement from the sport.Various national and international figures from cricket, politics, Bollywood and other fields spoke about him in a day-long Salaam Sachin Conclave organized by India Today. 

Style of play

Tendulkar plays a wristy leg-side flick

Tendulkar is cross-dominant: he bats, bowls and throws with his right hand, but writes with his left hand.He also practices left-handed throws at the nets on a regular basis. Cricinfo columnist Sambit Bal has described him as the "most wholesome batsman of his time". His batting is based on complete balance and poise while limiting unnecessary movements and flourishes. He appears to show little preference for the slow and low wickets which are typical in India, and has scored many centuries on the hard, bouncy pitches in South Africa and Australia. He is known for his unique punch style of hitting the ball over square. He is also renowned for his picture-perfect straight drive, often completed with no follow-through. The straight drive is often said to be his favourite shot. In 2008, Sunil Gavaskar, in an article he wrote in the AFP, remarked that "it is hard to imagine any player in the history of the game who combines classical technique with raw aggression like the little champion does".

Sir Donald Bradman, considered by many as the greatest batsman of all time, considered Tendulkar to have a batting style similar to his. In his biography, it is stated that "Bradman was most taken by Tendulkar's technique, compactness and shot production, and had asked his wife to have a look at Tendulkar, having felt that Tendulkar played like him. Bradman's wife, Jessie, agreed that they did appear similar.

Fan following

Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, a fan of Tendulkar who earned the privilege of tickets to all of India's home games

Tendulkar's entry into world cricket was hyped up by former Indian stars and those who had seen him play. Tendulkar's consistent performances earned him a fan following across the globe, including amongst Australian crowds, where Tendulkar has consistently scored centuries.One of the most popular sayings by his fans is "Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God".Cricinfo mentions in his profile that "... Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world." During the Australian tour of India in 1998 Matthew Hayden said "I have seen God. He bats at no. 4 in India in Tests.". However, on God, Sachin himself is reported to have said "I am not God of cricket. I make mistakes, God doesn't" Sachin made a special appearance in the Bollywood film Stumped in 2003, appearing as himself.

There have been many instances when Sachin's fans have done extreme activities over Sachin's dismissal in the game. As per reports by many Indian newspapers, a person hung himself being distressed over Sachin's failure to reach 100th century. Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, a fan of Tendulkar from Bihar, has followed almost all the matches played by Sachin since 2003 and has sacrificed his personal life to watch Sachin's play.