SACHIN TENDULKAR (INDIAN)

Introduction:

Sachin Tendulkar (born 24 April 1973) is a Indian cricketer, widely regarded to be one of the greatest cricketers of all time and by many as the greatest batsman of all time. He took up cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test debut on 15 November 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai domestically and India internationally for close to twenty four years. He is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International, holds the record for most number of runs in both ODI and Test cricket, the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket. In 2002 just half way through his career, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Don Bradman, and the second greatest ODI batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards. Later in his career. Tendulkar was a part of the Indian team that won the 2011 World Cup, his first win in six World Cup appearances for India. He had previously been named 'Player of the Tournament' at the 2003 edition of the tournament, held in South Africa. In 2013, he was the only Indian cricketer included in an all time Test World XI named to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers Almanack. Tendulkar received the Arjuna Award in 1994 for his outstanding sporting achievement, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1997, India's highest sporting honour, and the Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan awards in 1999 and 2008, respectively, India's fourth and second highest civilian awards. After a few hours of his final match on 16 November 2013, the Prime Minister's Office announced the decision to award him the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. He is the youngest recipient to date and the first ever sportsperson to receive the award. He also won the 2010 Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for cricketer of the year at the ICC awards. In 2012, Tendulkar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. He was also the first sportsperson and the first person without an aviation background to be awarded the honorary rank of group captain by the Indian Air Force. In 2012, he was named an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia.

In December 2012, Tendulkar announced his retirement from ODI. He retired from T20 cricket in October 2013 and subsequently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, retiring on 16 November 2013 after playing his 200th and final Test match, against the West Indies in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches and total scoring 34,357 runs.

Personal Life:

Tendulkar was born at Nirmal Nursing Home on 24 April 1973. His father, Ramesh Tendulkar, was a well known Marathi novelist and his mother, Rajni, worked in the insurance industry. Ramesh named Tendulkar after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman. Tendulkar has three elder siblings. two half brothers Nitin and Ajit, and a half sister Savita. They were Ramesh's children from his first marriage. He spent his formative years in the Sahitya Sahawas Cooperative Housing Society, Bandra 'East'. As a young boy, Tendulkar was considered a bully, and often picked up fights with new children in his school. He also showed an interest in tennis, idolising John McEnroe. To help curb his mischievous and bullying tendencies, Ajit introduced him to cricket in 1984. He introduced the young Tendulkar to Ramakant Achrekar, a famous cricket coach and a club cricketer of repute, at Shivaji Park, Dadar. In the first meeting, the young Tendulkar did not play his best. Ajit told Achrekar that he was feeling self conscious due to the coach observing him, and was not displaying his natural game. Ajit requested the coach to give him another chance at playing, but watch while hiding behind a tree. This time, Tendulkar, apparently unobserved, played much better and was accepted at Achrekar's academy. Ajit is ten years elder and is credited by Tendulkar for playing a pivotal role in his life.

Achrekar was impressed with Tendulkar's talent and advised him to shift his schooling to Sharadashram Vidyamandir 'English' High School, a school at Dadar which had a dominant cricket team and had produced many notable cricketers. Prior to this, Tendulkar had attended the Indian Education Society's New English School in Bandra. He was also coached under the guidance of
Achrekar at Shivaji Park in the mornings and evenings. Tendulkar would practice for hours on end in the nets. If he became exhausted, Achrekar would put a one rupee coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Tendulkar now considers the 13 coins he won then as some of his most prized possessions. He moved in with his aunt and uncle, who lived near Shivaji Park, during this period, due to his hectic schedule.

Meanwhile, at school, he developed a reputation as a child prodigy. He had become a common conversation point in local cricketing circles, where there were suggestions already that he would become one of the greats. Tendulkar consistently featured in his school Shardashram Vidyamandir ''English'' team in the Matunga Gujarati Seva Mandal ''popularly coined MGSM'' Shield. Besides school cricket, he also played club cricket, initially representing John Bright Cricket Club in Mumbai's premier club cricket tournament, the Kanga League, and later went on to play for the Cricket Club of India. In 1987, at the age of 14, he attended the MRF Pace Foundation in Madras 'now Chennai' to train as a fast bowler, but Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, who took a world record 355 Test wickets, was unimpressed, suggesting that Tendulkar focus on his batting instead. On 20 January 1987, he also turned out as substitute for Imran Khan's side in an exhibition game at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, to mark the golden jubilee of Cricket Club of India. A couple of months later, former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar gave him a pair of his own ultra light pads and consoled him to not get disheartened for not getting the Mumbai Cricket Association's "Best junior cricket award". "It was the greatest source of encouragement for me," Tendulkar said nearly 20 years later after surpassing Gavaskar's world record of 34 Test centuries. Tendulkar served as a ball boy in the 1987 Cricket World Cup when India played against England in the semifinal in Mumbai. In his season in 1988, Tendulkar scored a century in every innings he played. He was involved in an unbroken 664 run partnership in a Lord Harris Shield inter school game against St. Xavier's High School in 1988 with his friend and team mate Vinod Kambli, who would also go on to represent India. The destructive pair reduced one bowler to tears and made the rest of the opposition unwilling to continue the game. Tendulkar scored 326 ''not out'' in this innings and scored over a thousand runs in the tournament. This was a record partnership in any form of cricket until 2006, when it was broken by two under 13 batsmen in a match held at Hyderabad in India.

Career:

Tendulkar  was select for the Indian tour of Pakistan in late 1989, and that too after just one first class season. The Indian selection committee had shown interest in selecting Tendulkar for the tour of the West Indies held earlier that year, but eventually did not select him, as they did not want him to be exposed to the dominant fast bowlers of the West Indies so early in his career. Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989 aged just 16 years and 205 days. He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match, but was noted for how he handled numerous blows to his body at the hands of the Pakistani pace attack. In the fourth and final Test in Sialkot, he was hit on the nose by a bouncer bowled by Younis, but he declined medical assistance and continued to bat even as he gushed blood from it. In a 20 over exhibition game in Peshawar, held in parallel with the bilateral series, Tendulkar made 53 runs off 18 balls, including an over in which he scored 27 runs ''6, 4, 0, 6, 6, 6'' off leg spinner Abdul Qadir. This was later called 'one of the best innings I have seen' by the then Indian captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth. In all, he scored 215 runs at an average of 35.83 in the Test series, and was dismissed without scoring a run in the only One Day International 'ODI' he played. Thus Tendulkar became the youngest player to debut for India in Tests at the age of 16 years and 205 days and also the youngest player to debut for India in ODIs at the age of 16 years and 238 days. The series was followed by a tour of New Zealand in which he scored 117 runs at an average of 29.25 in Tests including an innings of 88 in the second Test. He was dismissed without scoring in one of the two one day games he played, and scored 36 in the other. On his next tour, to England in July-August 1990, he became the second youngest cricketer to score a Test century as he made 119 not out in the second Test at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Tendulkar's performance through the years 1994-1999 coincided with his physical peak, in his early twenties. On the day of the Hindu festival Holi, Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994. He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. He scored his first ODI century on 9 September 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It took him 79 ODIs to score his first century.

Tendulkar's rise continued when he was the leading run scorer at the 1996 World Cup, scoring two centuries. He was the only Indian batsman to perform in the semi-final against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar fell amid a batting collapse and the match referee, Clive Lloyd awarded Sri Lanka the match after the crowd began rioting and throwing litter onto the field. After the World Cup, in the same year against Pakistan at Sharjah, Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was going through a lean patch. Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu both made centuries to set a then record partnership for the second wicket. After getting out, Tendulkar found Azharuddin in two minds about whether he should bat. Tendulkar convinced Azharuddin to bat and Azharuddin subsequently unleashed 24 runs off just one over. India went on to win that match. It enabled India to post a score in excess of 300 runs for the first time in an ODI. This was the beginning of a period at the top of the batting world, culminating in the Australian tour of India in early 1998, with Tendulkar scoring three consecutive centuries. The focus was on the clash between Tendulkar, the world's most dominating batsman and Shane Warne, and the world's leading spinner, both at the peak of their careers, clashing in a full fledged Test series after 7 long years. In the lead up to the series, Tendulkar famously simulated scenarios in the nets with Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, the former India leg spinner, donning the role of Warne. In their tour opener, Australia faced the then Ranji Champions Mumbai at the Brabourne Stadium in a three day first class match. Tendulkar made an unbeaten 204 as Shane Warne conceded 111 runs in 16 overs and Australia lost the match within three days. These were characterised by a premeditated plan to target Australian spinners Shane Warne and Gavin Robertson, to whom he regularly charged down the pitch to drive over the infield. This technique worked as India beat Australia in the ensuing Test series as well. He also had a role with the ball in the five match ODI series in India following the Tests, including a five wicket haul in an ODI in Kochi. Set 310 runs to win, Australia were cruising at 203 for 3 in the 31st over when Tendulkar turned the match for India, taking the wickets of Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Tom Moody and Damien Martyn for just 32 runs in 10 overs. The Test match success was followed by two consecutive centuries in April 1998 in a Triangular cricket tournament in Sharjah, the first in a must-win game to take India to the finals and then again in the finals, both against Australia tormenting Shane Warne once again. These twin knocks were also known as the Desert Storm innings. The innings in the finals was incidentally played on his 25th birthday. Following the series Warne ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis. Tendulkar single handedly won the ICC 1998 quarterfinal at Dhaka to pave way for India's entry into the semifinals, when he took four Australian wickets after scoring 141 runs in just 128 balls.

The inaugural Asian Test Championship took place in February and March 1999. Held just twice, the 1999 championship was contested by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The first Test match between India and Pakistan in Eden Gardens was previously scheduled as the third Test match of the tournament but later on was shifted to the first match. In the first match, Tendulkar was run out for nine after colliding with Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar. Around 100,000 people came to support team India during the initial four days of the tournament. The aggregate Test attendance record which was made 63 years ago was broken during this Test. The crowd's reaction to the dismissal was to throw objects at Akhtar, and the players were taken off the field. The match resumed after Tendulkar and the president of the ICC appealed to the crowd, however further rioting meant that the match was finished in front of a crowd of just 200 people. Tendulkar scored his 19th Test century in the second Test and the match resulted in a draw with Sri Lanka. India did not progress to the final, which was won by Pakistan, and refused to participate the next time the championship was held due to increasing political tensions between India and Pakistan. In the historic Test against Pakistan at Chepauk in 1999, the first of a two Test series, Sachin Tendulkar scored 136 in the fourth innings with India chasing 271 for victory. However, he was out when India needed 17 more runs to win, triggering a batting collapse, and India lost the match by 12 runs. The worst was yet to come as Professor Ramesh Tendulkar, Sachin Tendulkar's father, died in the middle of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against Zimbabwe. However, he returned to the World Cup scoring a century ''140 not out off 101 balls'' in his very next match against Kenya in Bristol. He dedicated this century to his father.

Captaincy:

Tendulkar captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. When Tendulkar took over as captain in 1996, it was with huge hopes and expectations. However, by 1997 the team was performing poorly. Azharuddin was credited with saying 'Nahin jeetega! Chote ki naseeb main jeet nahin hai!', which translates into: "He won't win! It's not in the small one's destiny!".

Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were beaten 3-0 by the newly crowned world champions. Tendulkar, however, won the player of the series award as well as player of the match in one of the games. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0-2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.

Tendulkar remained an integral part of the Indian team's strategic processes. He was often seen in discussion with the captain, at times actively involved in building strategies. Former captain Rahul Dravidpublicly acknowledged that Tendulkar had been suggesting moves such as the promotion of Irfan Pathan up the batting order which, although only temporary, had an immediate effect on the team's fortunes. In 2007, Tendulkar was appointed vice captain to captain Rahul Dravid. During the Indian team's 2007 tour of England, Dravid's desire to resign from the captaincy became known. The BCCI President Sharad Pawar personally offered the captaincy to Tendulkar. However, Tendulkar asked Pawar not to appoint him captain, instead recommending Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take over the reins. Pawar later revealed this conversation, crediting Tendulkar for first forwarding the name of Dhoni, who since achieved much success as captain.

Retirement:

Following poor performance in the 2012 series against England, Tendulkar announced his retirement from One Day Internationals on 23 December 2012, while noting that he will be available for Test cricket. In response to the news, former India captain Sourav Ganguly noted that Tendulkar could have played the up coming series against Pakistan, while Anil Kumble said it would be "tough to see an Indian 'ODI' team list without Tendulkar's name in it", and Javagal Srinath mentioned that Tendulkar "changed the way ODIs were played right from the time he opened in New Zealand in 1994".

After playing his lone T20 International in 2006 against South Africa, he stated that he would not play T20 Internationals any more. He announced his retirement from IPL after his team Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 26 May to win the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013. He retired from T20 cricket and limited overs cricket, after playing the 2013 Champions League T20 in September-October 2013 in India for Mumbai Indians.

On 10 October 2013 Tendulkar announced that he would retire from all cricket after the two Test series against West Indies in November. Later the BCCI confirmed that the two matches will be played at Kolkata and Mumbai, making the farewell happen at his home ground on Tendulkar's request. He scored 74 runs in his last Test innings against West Indies, thus failing short by 79 runs to complete 16,000 runs in Test cricket. The Cricket Association of Bengal and the Mumbai Cricket Association organised events to mark his retirement from the sport. Various national and international figures from cricket, politics, Bollywood and other fields spoke about him in a day long Salaam Sachin Conclave organised by India Today.

In July 2014, he captained the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's. In December 2014, he was announced ambassador of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 event. It is his second term as he has already held the ambassador of the previous ICC Cricket world cup 2011. So he is heading the ambassador position of the ICC Cricket world cup in consecutive terms of the cricket world cup '2011 and 2015'.

IPL and Other:

Tendulkar was made the icon player and captain for his home side, the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural Indian Premier League T20 competition in 2008. As an icon player, he was signed for a sum of US$1,121,250, 15% more than the second-highest paid player in the team, Sanath Jayasuriya.

In 2010 edition of Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians reached the final of the tournament. Tendulkar made 618 runs in 14 innings during the tournament, breaking Shaun Marsh's record of most runs in an IPL season. He was declared player of the tournament for his performance during the season. He also won Best Batsman and Best Captain awards at 2010 IPL Awards ceremony.

Sachin Tendulkar captained Mumbai Indians in 4 league matches of second edition of the league. He scored 68 in the first match and 48 against Guyana. But Mumbai Indians failed to qualify for semifinals after losing the initial two matches. Tendulkar scored 135 runs.

In the 2011 IPL, against Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Tendulkar scored his maiden T20 hundred. He scored 100 not out off 66 balls. In 51 matches in the IPL Tendulkar has scored 1,723 runs, making him the second highest run scorer in the competition's history. In 2013, Sachin Tendulkar retired from Indian Premier League and currently in 2014.

Playing Style:

Tendulkar is bats, bowls and throws with his right hand, but writes with his left hand. He also practices left handed throws at the nets on a regular basis. Cricinfo columnist Sambit Bal has described him as the "most wholesome batsman of his time". His batting is based on complete balance and poise while limiting unnecessary movements and flourishes. He appears to show little preference for the slow and low wickets which are typical in India, and has scored many centuries on the hard, bouncy pitches in South Africa and Australia. He is known for his unique punch style of hitting the ball over square. He is also renowned for his picture perfect straight drive, often completed with no follow through. The straight drive is often said to be his favourite shot. In 2008, Sunil Gavaskar, in an article he wrote in the AFP, remarked that 'it is hard to imagine any player in the history of the game who combines classical technique with raw aggression like the little champion does'.

Sir Donald Bradman, considered by many as the greatest batsman of all time, considered Tendulkar to have a batting style similar to his. In his biography, it is stated that "Bradman was most taken by Tendulkar's technique, compactness and shot production, and had asked his wife to have a look at Tendulkar, having felt that Tendulkar played like him. Bradman's wife, Jessie, agreed that they did appear similar. Australian cricket team coach John Buchanan voiced his opinion that Tendulkar had become susceptible to the short ball early in his innings because of a lack of footwork. Buchanan also believes Tendulkar has a weakness while playing left arm pace. He was affected by a series of injuries since 2004. Since then Tendulkar's batting has tended to be less attacking. Explaining this change in his batting style, he has acknowledged that he is batting differently because, firstly, no batsman can bat the same way for the entire length of a long career and, secondly, he is a senior member of the team now and thus has more responsibility. During the early part of his career, he was a more attacking batsman and frequently scored centuries at close to a run a ball. Ian Chappell, former Australian player, remarked in 2007 that 'Tendulkar now, is nothing like the player he was when he was a young bloke'.

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