How well do you know Sachin Tendulkar?
Sachin Tendulkar played international cricket for 24 years and carried the hopes of a billion fans. These six questions go behind the runs and records.
Did you know?
- Tendulkar batted right-handed but wrote with his left hand. He has said that switching hands for different tasks felt natural to him, and some coaches believe his strong left hand helped give him extra control over the top hand of his grip on the bat.
- As a boy in Mumbai, Tendulkar was a big fan of the tennis player John McEnroe and even grew his hair long to look like him. His older brother Ajit, who spotted his talent and took him to coach Achrekar, remained one of his closest advisers throughout his career.
- Tendulkar made his first-class debut for Mumbai at 15 and scored a century, then did the same in his debuts in two other major Indian domestic tournaments. He is the only player to score a century on debut in all three of those competitions.
The Little Master
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar grew up in Bandra, a suburb of Mumbai, and first became famous as a schoolboy. At 14 he shared a partnership of 664 runs with his friend Vinod Kambli in a school match, a record that made newspaper headlines. He was nicknamed the 'Little Master' for his compact build and complete technique. Between 1989 and 2013 he played 200 Test matches and 463 one-day internationals, both records, and scored more runs than any other player in either format.
A hundred hundreds
In 2012 Tendulkar became the first player to score 100 centuries in international cricket, combining 51 in Tests and 49 in one-day internationals. The wait for the hundredth took about a year, and the whole country followed each innings. His consistency across more than two decades was remarkable: he adapted to new rules, new formats and several generations of bowlers, and remained a key player into his late thirties.
The 2011 World Cup
Tendulkar played in six World Cups, a joint record, but his greatest team moment came in 2011, when India won the tournament at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. His teammates carried him on their shoulders around the ground, with one of them saying he had carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. He was also the tournament's leading run-scorer for India, and in 2003 he had been named player of the tournament.
Life after cricket
Tendulkar retired from international cricket in 2013 after his 200th Test, also played at the Wankhede. His farewell speech, in which he thanked his family, coaches and fans, was watched by millions. Since then he has worked as a mentor in the Indian Premier League and supported charities focused on children's health and education, especially in rural India. The chant of 'Sachin, Sachin' remains one of the best-known sounds in Indian sport.