His insatiable appetite for racing makes him the gift of world cricket. From the moment he took guard at Gwalior on February 24, Sachin Tendulkar cemented his place among the gods of world cricket. At 36 years old and in the 21st year of his cricket career, Sachin showed that he still has the heart and appetite to weave magic at the highest level and set phenomenal standards for others to follow.
The little master’s undefeated 200 that day was not only a world record for top races in a One Day International (ODI), it was an epic effort of passion, focus, precision, solid technique, elegance and power. The genius delighted fans with an explosive hitting display that included his usual straight shots, splendid cuts, fluid strikes, powerful pulls, dainty leg looks and big over-the-bounds shots.
The little legend wrote his name in stones to eventually become the first cricketer in the world to score 200 runs in an ODI. The historic achievement came after a staggering 2,961 matches and almost 39 years since the first ODIs were played, including those that included 60 overs each, giving batsmen more scoring opportunities.
Watching him hit 200, the entire cricket world is convinced that Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman in the world. Not only because of his extraordinary hitting skills, but because of his never giving up spirit and insatiable hunger for runs.
The way he celebrated when he reached 200 personified the personality of the man. There was no punching the air, no aggressive gestures, no running into the crowd, nothing over the top. He was himself as always, he raised both arms, looked at the sky, closed his eyes for a moment and quietly he acknowledged that he is happy to be there.
A soldier is not judged by the weapon he carries or the battlefields he has faced, but by the character with which he uses his weapons on the battlefield. Sachin has always been a team player. We cannot think of a better savior of Indian cricket than Sachin. He should not be judged on the basis of his scores as he was instrumental in motivating countless youngsters to take up cricket seriously and was able to spawn a handful of fiercely motivated young cricketers who will carry team honor for the next two decades.
He remains a great ambassador for the sport because of the way he has conducted himself. His humility and character make him even more special. Despite his phenomenal achievements, mountains of runs and records, he is extremely composed both on and off the field.
On a closer look, it’s not just passion that keeps him going. He has incorporated several modern and unorthodox strikes into his kitty of late, including the paddle sweep, the paddle over the short, thin leg, and the third man cut over the slide. This has allowed him to continue to score consistently despite the physical toll of injuries and a lean period in the mid-2000s. By his own admission, he’s not hitting as aggressively as he did during the ’90s and early ’00s. , as his body has undergone changes and he was unable to sustain aggressive pitches for a period of time.
Sachin Tendulkar was born in Mumbai into a middle class family. His father, Ramesh Tendulkar, a Marathi novelist named Tendulkar after his favorite musical director and family friend, Sachin Dev Burman. Tendulkar’s older brother Ajit encouraged him to play cricket. Tendulkar has two other brothers; a Nitin brother and a Savitai sister.
Tendulkar attended Sharadashram Vidyamandir (High School), where he began his cricket career under the guidance of his coach and mentor, Ramakant Achrekar. During his school days, he attended the MRF Pace Foundation to train as a fast pitcher, but Australian fast pitcher Dennis Lillee was unimpressed, suggesting that Tendulkar focus on his hitting.
As a young man, Tendulkar would practice for hours on the nets. If he ran out, Achrekar would put a one rupee coin on top of the stumps, and the bowler who fired Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar made it through the entire session without being sent off, the coach would give him the coin. Tendulkar now regards the 13 coins he earned back then as some of his most prized possessions.
While at school, he developed a reputation as a child prodigy. He had become a common topic of conversation in Mumbai circles, where there were already suggestions that he would become one of the greats. His 1988 season was extraordinary, with Tendulkar scoring a century in every inning he played. He was involved in an unbroken 664-run partnership in an inter-school Lord Harris Shield game in 1988 with his friend and teammate Vinod Kambli, who also represented India. Tendulkar scored 326 in this inning and scored over a thousand runs in the tournament.
When he was 14 years old, Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar presented him with a pair of his own ultralight pads. “He was the biggest source of encouragement for me,” Sachin said nearly 20 years after breaking the world record 34 Gavaskar test centuries.
In 1995, Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali (born November 10, 1967), a pediatrician and the daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta. They have two children, Sara (born October 12, 1997) and Arjun (born September 24, 1999).
Tendulkar sponsors 200 underprivileged children each year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annaben Mehta. He keeps a very low profile about this and is reluctant to talk about this or other charitable activities, choosing to preserve the sanctity of his personal life despite overwhelming media interest in every aspect of his life.
Tendulkar is a God fearing man and Lord Ganesha is his favorite God. He is a perfect family man and has great regard for his family. He claims that his family is still the source of his inspiration. He once said that his parents taught him that it is important to live every day of life with grace and honor. He balances both cricket and personal life very well and gives them equal importance.
During a BBC interview, when asked to name the girl of his dreams, he answered “my wife” without hesitation.
Although he is very committed and extremely consistent, he was not out of controversies and criticism.
During the second test of India’s tour of South Africa in 2001, Tendulkar was given a one-match suspension by match referee Mike Denness for his alleged “ball handling”. Images captured by television cameras suggest that Tendulkar may have been involved in cleaning up the seam on the broken ball, which appeared to alter the ball’s condition. Mike Denness felt Sachin Tendulkar guilty on the ball tampering charges and banned him from a test match. After a thorough investigation, the International Cricket Council revoked the match’s official status and Tendulkar’s ban was lifted. However, the incident caused a massive backlash from the Indian public with even members of the Indian Parliament expressing their protest against the ban.
Tendulkar also had some difficult moments. He was heavily criticized when he changed his approach from aggressive hitting to a more defensive one. Between 2001 and 2005, Tendulkar was not at his usual best. Tennis elbow took its toll, sidelining him for the first two Tests when Australia toured India in 2005.
Wisden noted that Tendulkar hasn’t been as aggressive as before. Pundits were divided on whether this was due to his aging years or the lingering aftermath of injuries during 17 years of cricketing at the highest level. Doubts about his performance were raised when he averaged just 21 runs in three test innings when India toured Pakistan in 2006.
During that moment, Goeffrey Boycott savagely said: “Sachin Tendulkar is in the worst shape of his career… now that he is going to sit out for another two months, I don’t think he can come back to get back what he once did.” had.” But Tendulkar proved him and every one of his critics wrong by recovering from all the injuries and weak patches on him.
When he’s not playing cricket, he loves to cook. Sachin is a good cook and once cooked Baigan-partha for all of his teammates. He runs a restaurant, “Tendulkar’s” in Colaba, Mumbai. Tendulkar loves music and he likes the guitar.