Sachin Tendulkar
Aman of short stature in appearance but a man of tall stature in achievement- he is Sachin Tendulkar- the sporting icon and one of the best cricketers the world has seen.
Sachin Tendulkar was born on 24 April 1973 in Mumbai. His father, Ramesh Tendulkar was a famous Mandl novelist. He went to Shardhashram Vidhya Mandir (high school) and was very inclined to playing cricket. Cricket was his passion from a very early age and played with friends on street. He began serious coaching at school, under Ramakant Achrekar practiced for hours and tried to perfect his skills in batting. When bored of batting, his coach would place a rupee coin on the stump and gift the coin if Sachin managed to bat well and stay not out. He won such 13 coins and they are among his prized possessions. Today he is rated second after Sir Donald Bradman, the greatest cricketer ever and one of the three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in test cricket (first Indian to do so). He is also the greatest one day batsman. He has rightly earned the titles or nick names- ‘THE LITTLE MASTER’ and ‘MASTER BLASTER’.
Sachin Tendulkar, first made debut in a memorable match in Mumbai cricket team at the age of 14 and scored a century. At the age of 16, he made international debut (1984) against Pakistan in Karachi. While still at school. he and Vinod Kambli, another talented cricketer, who later played for India made a partnership score of 664, runs (1988) which become a record in domestic cricket. Every cricketer has a distinct style, whether a batsman or a bowler. Sachin while batting has complete balance and composure. He is strong in hitting the ball to all parts of the field (making the fielders run!) and there is variety in his short. Donald Bradman, himself found similarity to his batting style. Even, commentators often compare him to Donald Bradman. Apart from attacking batting. he is known for his unique punch style of hitting the ball over square. As a batsman Sachin is a great achiever and his achievements are records. But he too had his career peaks and lows. He is the only player to score hundred in all three of his Ranji, Duleep and Irani trophy debut. During 1991-1992 he developed into a world class batsman, while on a match tour of his Australia which included an unbeaten 148 runs in Sydney and a hundred on bouncy track at Perth. In 1992, at 19 years he represented York shire (county cricket in England). played 16 first class matches and scored 1070 runs. His peak performance is considered between 1994 -1999. In 1994. as an opening batsman he scored 82 runs of 49 balls at Auckland against New Zealand.
In 1996 he enabled a win against Pakistan in the series with his performance. The same year in the World cup he was the leading scorer. His excellent bowling too gave a new end to the otherwise failing matches 1998 against Australia. He took five wickets in ODI for just 32 runs in 10 overs. He also scored three consecutive centuries which prompted Australian Shane Warne to joke that he was having “night mares about his Indian nemesis”. Again 1999 world cup he scored gritty centuries. He has won “Man of the Match” 11 times in test matches and 4 times “Man of the Series”.
He played under many captains and was successful. His own captaincy though was not very successful but always gave right suggestions. He was again the lead scorer in 2003 world cup. In 2006, he went through a lean period with injuries- of elbow and shoulders. Some critics even questioned his future in the game.
In the ‘Border-Gavaskar Trophy matches (2007-08) he showed exceptional form and proved his critics wrong. In the one day international Common Wealth tri series Ion 5th Feb. 2008), involving Srilanka and Australia. he became the first and only batsman to complete 16,000 runs at Brisbane. He holds the record of second highest runs taken in test matches — 11.782 runs. Also, holds the record of highest centuries in test (39) and in ODIs (42).
His contribution to cricket and bringing fame for the country is enormous. He was showered with many awards. In 1994, he was awarded the Arjuna award and in 1997 he received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. which is the highest sporting honour. Recently in 2008, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan. the second highest civilian award of India. In July 2002, when he equaled Bradman’s record of 29 centuries in test cricket, Ferrari-the automotive giant gifted him with a ‘Ferrari 360 Modena’, presented to him by Michael Schumacher, the F- 1 racing champion.
He is married to Dr. Anjali, a pediatrician and they have two children. He sponsors 200 under privileged children at an NGO, Apnalaya and has a chain of restaurants.
He is a gentleman player and never shows off. He is an inspiration to many aspiring cricketers and a face which sells many products. He is the most sponsored player in the world cricket and has a huge fan following. A player, who’s game has made a great impact and continues to grow drawing great comments from senior cricketers. His aim is to concentrate on his game and give his best. He declined to be captain of the new team for twenty oven cricket matches suggesting Dhoni’s name, paving way for the younger lot and being with them as a pillar of strength. He is one of the player who is still playing in the international level from 1980 s and going on unstoppable.