Sachin Tendulkar

Master Blaster! Second greatest ODI and Test cricketer ever! Leading Test century scorer! Leading ODI century scorer! The list of records and titles is longer than this cricketer himself who is probably the brightest star in present cricket arena of the world. Born on April 24, 1973, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is a cricketer beyond comparison! Son of a writer, Ramesh Tendulkar, he was named after the famous singer of the time, Sachin Dev Burman. Student of the Shradhashram Vidyamandir School, he took cricket coaching along with friend Vinod Kambli from Ramakant Achrekar.

Trying to become a pace bowler, a simple comment by the legendary fast bowler Dennis Lilee , ‘ Just focus on your batting’, changed the course of his life. The man showed his potential for the first time when he along with Vinod Kambli made a record of unbroken partnership of 664 runs in 1988. Tendulkar made his test debut in 1989 against Pakistan in which he could not do much. His ODI debut was also not good; he got out without scoring a run in that match. But all this did not deter him. Soon world stood witness to his first Test century, against England in 1990.

Today this cricket wizard, the only cricketer to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, has whopping 37 Test and 41 ODI centuries to his credit. Next only to the legendary Sir Donald Bradman, he is the first Indian to surpass the 11,000 Test run mark. He has tried his hands in bowling too and has remained successful in that arena also. His genius can be summed up in the words of one of the best bowlers in the world, Shane Warne: “There is Sachin and there is daylight”.