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When Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar made his test debut against Pakistan as a 16 year old, little did the world know that the curly-haired teenager would one day become one of the greatest legends of the game. In his homeland, India, Sachin is more than just a popular sportsperson; he is an institution in himself. He is not just loved and respected, but revered. Called the “God of Cricket” by his fans, Sachin has ruled the game for well over two decades—a very rare feat for a sportsperson. Widely considered to be the greatest cricketer ever, he is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries. Born into a middle class home in Bombay, he started playing cricket while still a little boy and made his international test debut at the tender age of 16! And thus began the journey of a cricketer who would smash several long standing records and create unbelievable new ones. Keeping in view his awesome performance, he was made the captain of the Indian team. Captaincy however did not suit him and he resigned. In spite of his iconic status, Sachin is known to be a simple and principled man which further adds to his popularity.

Childhood & Early Life

• He was born as the youngest of four siblings to Ramesh Tendulkar, a Marathi novelist and Rajni, who worked in the insurance industry. He was named after his father’s favorite music director, Sachin Dev Burman.
• As a young boy he was a bully. His older brother encouraged him to play cricket in order to divert his attention from fights and got him enrolled at the academy of the coach, Ramakant Achrekar.
• He went to Sharadashram Vidyamandir High School at the advice of Achrekar as the school had a rich cricketing tradition. He shone as a star cricketer playing for his school and soon people were predicting that he would one day become a famous player.
• Along with his friend Vinod Kambli, he was involved in a record 664-run partnership in an inter school match against St. Xavier’s High School in 1988.

   

  Career 

  He embarked on his domestic first-class career in 1988 playing for Mumbai and scored a century on his very first match. He ended the season as the highest run scorer.

  His performance in the first-class matches had been so mind blowing that he got selected into the national team after just one season. He made his international test debut against Pakistan in November 1989 aged just 16.

  Even though he could not score many runs in the series, he got noticed both for his batting techniques and his dedication to the sport. He also made his debut in One Day International (ODI) in 1989.

  During the 1991-92 tour of Australia, he made 148 runs in one of the matches and 114 in another, batting against the great bowlers of that time like Merv Hughes, Craig Mcdermott and Bruce Reid.

  Asked to open the batting against Zealand in an ODI 1994, he set the stadium on fire blasting 82 runs off just 49 balls. The very same year he made his first ODI century against Australia.

  In 1998 Australia was on a tour of India and the series was hyped as Sachin versus Warne contest. Sachin blasted Warne in the series and made two centuries in the three-test series. Sachin played a vital role in India’s win in the series.

  Sachin had two brief stints as captain of Indian cricket team and both of them were not very successful. He took over as captain in 1996 but the team performed poorly and he gave up the captaincy in 1997. He was again made the captain in 1999 but again he was not very successful and gave up the captaincy in 1999.

  India was one of the favorites in the Cricket World Cup 2003 where he performed superbly, making 673 runs in 11 matches to help India reach the finals. The team however lost the finals to Australia though Sachin was given Man of the Tournament Award.

  After going through a difficult phase he regained his form in 2007, completing 11,000 test runs to become the leading run scorer from India. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2007–08, he scored 493 runs in four tests, demonstrating his unbelievable batting skills.

  Sachin was again at his best in the 2011 World Cup during which he made 482 runs including two centuries. India faced Sri Lanka in the finals and won the match—it was the first World Cup victory for him.

  His form faltered after the World Cup and he went through a lean phase. He retired from all forms of cricket in November 2013 and was given a very emotional farewell by his fans.

   

  Awards & Achievements

  Sachin is one of the most prolific cricketers ever—the first person to score a double century in ODIs, the only player to score a 100 centuries, and the only one to have amassed over 30, 000 runs in all forms of international cricket. It is no surprise that he occupies a legendary status in cricket-crazy India.

  Sachin Tendulkar holds the world record for scoring highest number of runs and centuries in both the Test Cricket and the One Day Internationals. He has scored 15921 runs and 51 centuries in Test Cricket. While in ODIs, he has scored 18,426 runs and 49 centuries.

  He was the first person to score a double century in ODIs.

  He is the only cricketer so far to have played in 200 Test matches.

  In addition to the numerous cricketing awards he has won, Sachin is also the proud recipient of several awards from the Government of India. He was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting award, in 1997-98 for his achievements in cricket.

  He was honored with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award in 2014 in recognition of his spectacular contributions to cricket. He became the first sportsperson as well as the youngest ever individual to receive the award.

   

  Personal Life & Legacy 

  He met Anjali, a doctor, in 1990 and dated her for five years before tying the knot in 1995. The couple has two children. His son Arjun is also a budding cricketer.

  He is actively involved with Apnalaya, an NGO, and sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year. He has also used his popularity to help many other charities raise large amounts of funds for several noble causes including cancer research and education.

   

  Trivia 

  At 40 years of age this famous sportsperson became the youngest ever to receive the Bharat Ratna.

   

  Top 10 Facts You Did Not Know About Sachin Tendulkar

  As a young boy, Sachin Tendulkar wanted to become a fast bowler but was rejected by Dennis Lillee's MRF Pace Foundation in 1987.

  He served as a ball boy for the match between India and Zimbabwe at the Wankhede Stadium during the 1987 World Cup.

  What if someone tells you that Sachin Tendulkar fielded for Pakistan in a match! Yes, you heard it right. Sachin Tendulkar fielded as a substitute during a one-day practice match against India at Brabourne Stadium in 1988.

  On his test debut against Pakistan, he wore the pads gifted to him by Sunil Gavaskar.

  Sachin is ambidextrous; he bats with his right hand, but writes with his left.

  He is the recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Padma Shri— the only cricketer to win all three of them.

  He had a habit of sleepwalking as well as talking in his sleep.

  He received a bottle of champagne when he won the man-of-match award for his first Test ton in 1990. But he was not allowed to pop it open as he was below 18 years!

  As a popular cricketer he might have endorsed several famous brands but the first brand that he endorsed was the health drink 'Boost'.

  He is the first sportsperson without an aviation background to be awarded the honorary rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force.