by In November of 1983, an eleven-year-old schoolboy in Mumbai named Sachin Tendulkar joined Bombay Gymkhana, a cricket club. Later that year, he played his first match. For the next 24 years, Sachin Tendulkar continued to play as a professional cricketer for the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team. He also captained the Indian cricket team for over 15 years. He is regarded as one of India’s most prolific players in every format and holds several world records including the highest number of runs scored (a record 25357), 100 international centuries, and a masterful 49 test match innings without taking a single wicket (the best bowling performance being 8).
Birth of Sachin Tendulkar
On April 24, 1973, Sachin Tendulkar was born in a Hindu family in the city of Mumbai. His father Ramesh Tendulkar was a well-known Marathi novelist, and his mother Rajni Tendulkar worked at the local police station. Tendulkar has a younger brother Ajit and an older sister Anjali. As a young child, he wanted to become a scientist. He studied day in and day out at school to achieve his goal. Sachin was so invested in his studies that he did not play with other children during recess and often stayed after school for tutoring. He graduated from Sharadashram Vidyamandir, one of the best schools at that time.
Inspire to play Cricket
Cricket was a popular sport in India, and Tendulkar’s elder brother Ajit had been encouraged to play by his teachers. One day, Ajit returned home with a cricket bat and ball, both of which he had obtained without his parents’ permission. In the evening, Ajit bowled to a young Sachin in the front yard of their home. When Sachin was able to hit the ball off Ajit’s bowling consistently, he asked his father for a proper cricket bat of his own.
When he was 10 years old India won the world cup in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil dev. this inspires Sachin Tendulkar to play cricket for his country and henceforth he starts to play cricket. He joined Ramakant Achrekar academy in Shivaji Park, Dadar.
Rise of Sachin Tendulkar
Join domestic cricket
In the 1980s, Tendulkar was introduced to cricket at the Cricket Club of India, the stadium of Mumbai’s domestic team. There, he could play against most of the players who played at the international level. His first match was against Mumbai Under-15s (similar to an Under-11s team in other parts of the world), in which he scored an unbeaten 44 runs in his second innings.
In 1982, his first year at school, Tendulkar scored 1537 runs out of only one hundred and fifty eight balls; a record that stood for 17 years. He scored three double hundreds in a single season while playing under-13 cricket on outfield and boundary fields during the monsoon seasons.
Represent Bombay in the Ranji
In 1983, Tendulkar was selected to represent Bombay in the Ranji Trophy. He didn’t play in his first year in the first eleven. Later, after Gavaskar’s retirement, he played his debut match against Gujarat and hit 100 not out. At that time, he becomes the youngest Indian to hit a century on his domestic debut.
Debut in International
Tendulkar’s first game in Test cricket was against Pakistan in Karachi, where he scored 71 runs. He was not selected for the next game against Sri Lanka but played one Match in Sharjah Cup in which he made 63 and 130 not out. This earned him a place on the 1988 Indian tour of Pakistan.
In 1990, Tendulkar became the first batsman to score a double century (200 runs) before lunch on any day of play in Test cricket when he scored 200 not out against West Indies during the first session on Day Four of the Third Test at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. This is an Indian record that still stands as of 4 March 2009.
Become a god of Cricket
Tendulkar is known for his penchant for hitting sixes. Commonly using the straight drive to loft over the infield and long-off or over the midwicket boundary. He has frequently been recorded as being able to hit sixes at will from any part of the ground. Such is his popularity that he has been awarded the nickname “Master Blaster” and was voted as one of the Top Five Cricketers of All Time in a poll by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in 2002.
As of 2008, Tendulkar was awarded the Man of the Match award 29 times in his Test cricket career. The first time he won this award was during India’s tour to Pakistan in 1988.
In 1990, he scored a double century before lunch on any day of play in Test cricket. When he scored 200 not out against West Indies during the first session on Day Four of the Third Test at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. This is an Indian record that still stands as of November 2009.
Career with Injuries
In 1996, Tendulkar was the captain of the Indian cricket team during a home test series against Sri Lanka. He scored centuries in each of the three Tests that he played and led India to victory in all three Tests.
In 1998, he injured his ankle during a Test match against Pakistan at Kolkata and was unable to play for 5 months. This injury almost sidelined his career. Tendulkar’s ankle had been injured before but never as bad as this injury.
In 2000, he fractured his hand while batting against Australia and missed the rest of the ODI series, which India lost 3–2 despite being placed 1–0 up after 1 match. He also missed the ensuing single Test match.
Finally, in 2006, Tendulkar was struck on the head by a bouncer from Shoaib Akhtar. Which put him out of action for four Tests in Australia. He was dismissed during his first innings in each of these four matches. Then took ill and missed the last two Tests. This meant that he had now gone eight successive Test innings without scoring a run. He equalling his previous longest string of consecutive innings without scoring a run (in 1998).
Retirement from Cricket
In 2013, Tendulkar announced his retirement from international cricket in a letter to the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. He said that he had previously discussed his plans with his close friends and brother. He said: “The decision to retire is one I have been contemplating for quite some time. Ever since I was a child, my dream was to play for India, tour abroad, and play Test matches for India as long as I could.”
Tendulkar said that he took playing cricket so seriously because “if you are not serious about your work you cannot be healthy after it”.
