Sachin speaks about marks and runs

India's batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has revealed that during his teenage days he resisted the temptation to skip practice to eat "vada pavs" but his respect for his father always restrained him from doing so.

In an interview to a Marathi TV channel, Tendulkar said he never wanted to exploit the freedom given by his father, who wanted the legend to pursue sporting excellence.

As a kid I always felt like bunking the practice session and go out to eat 'vada pavs' like most children of my age did. "But I never wanted to exploit the freedom given by my father, who wanted me to pursue my interest in cricket and pressurized me to achieve academic success," said Tendulkar."When in school I found that scoring runs was easier for me than scoring marks. My father recognized my passion for cricket and fully supported me, insisting that whatever I do, I should not lose my focus," he said.The former India captain said it was his coach Ramakant Archrekar and brother Ajit, who kept him focussed. "The credit to keep me focused on the game, which is my passion, should go to my coach and my brother. They ensured that I never lost focus," said Tendulkar. The 38-year-old also advised budding cricketers to be self-disciplined. "As a professional sportsman it is necessary to imbibe a kind of self-discipline and you cannot eat and drink at will. Everybody wants to enjoy life, but one has to know one's limitations and ensure that it (lifestyle) does not affect your performance," he said.

Ganguly wont play

Ganguly wont play the match against MI in IPL season 4. Yuvraj Singh who welcomed Ganguly's inclusion in the squad told the reports that he wont be playing the match against MI. He also added that Ganguly would definitely be an asset to the team. "He's experienced and I will get help in captaining the team," Yuvraj told reporters. 

GANGULY IS BACK IN IPL

DADA is back

Ganguly, the former India captain, has been signed by Pune Warriors as a replacement for Ashish Nehra, who was ruled out for the remainder of the 2011 season with a finger injury. Ganguly's contract is for a period of one year and is an IPL lifeline to the batsman after he went unsold at the player auction in January, where his base price was $400,000.

Ganguly will be vice-captain to Yuvraj Singh and is likely to join the Pune squad ahead of their match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on May 4.

"He is playing in IPL not for money but to prove a point. Our team think-tank felt that Sourav Ganguly is the best possible option available so we went for him. He has been a fighter and a master of comebacks. We are very much confident that he will prove his worth."

Ganguly played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three seasons of the IPL and led the team in two of them, while Brendon McCullum was captain for the other. Kolkata fared poorly in those years and are the only franchise not to make the semi-finals. Kolkata did not bid for Ganguly in January despite his name coming up for sale twice, as they revamped their squad entirely, and the batsman later refused a mentoring role with the franchise.

Pune Warriors are bottom of the ten-team league at present, having lost six consecutive matches after winning their first two. Ganguly has an average IPL record - 1031 runs at an average of 28 and strike-rate of 110 - and could strengthen an under-performing and short batting order.

Sourav Ganguly may move to Kochi IPL team or coach Bangladesh

Every cricketer is in news after the win in ICC World Cup 2011 and with the start of IPL4 cricket is the hot topic this season. Hot news coming from the cricket grounds is that Sourav Ganguly the former Indian skipper is in demand now-a-days. Sourav Ganguly is expected to be a top choice as a batting coach for Bangladesh cricket team as well as the former Indian skipper can replace Jayewardene captain of Kochi Tuskers Kerala in IPL 4.

Heartbroken Bangladesh team after not even entering in quarter finals of World Cup 2011 is planning to change their coach. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has few options on their list for the replacement of their current Australian coach and the top names include Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly. BCB has not made an official offer to Ganguly but is expected to be among their first priority.

After the announcement that Sri Lankan Cricket Board has made a point to call back all Sri Lankan players from IPL 4 for practicing for the upcoming tour with England. If it happens on the deadline given (5th may) then Sourav Ganguly is on priority for Kochi Tuskers Kerala as a replacement for Mahila Jayewardene.

With the news when asked Sourav Ganguly about what actually will happen he said, “Let’s see, I am having my fingers crossed”. Ganguly for whom no one opted in IPL4 auctions suddenly seems to have his stars bright shining. Hoping we will again see Dada showing his skills in cricket to the nation. 

India, Pakistan to play 3-match ODI series this year?

Prime Minister Gilani, who visited Mohali last month to watch the India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal, had said that boards of the two countries were holding negotiations for renewing cricket ties. 

As a follow-up to the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, India has decided in-principle to resume bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan. And in good news for the fans, India, Pakistan may play a three-match ODI series this year.

And now Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmad, has told 'The News' daily that efforts are on to arrange a three-match ODI series despite the hectic schedule of the two countries this year.

1st century of IPL 2010-Yusuf Pathan

IPL is on fire!!! Hurray!!! What an innings from Yusuf!! No one would have expected a quick fire century from him in this match. He is one of the biggest hitters and clean strikers of the cricket ball. When the batsmen of Rajasthan Royals were returning back to pavilion in quick successions, it was Yusuf who played an out-standing innings. His 100 runs from 37 balls consisted of nine 4's and eight 6's. Had he stayed for two more over in the crease it would have been an easy win for the RR. This is the fastest 100 in the history of IPL. Yusuf became the second Indian to score a 100 in the IPL, the other being Manish Pandey. Though RR lost the match by 4 runs, Yusuf was awarded the man-of-the-match for his blistering innings. Hope his form continues forever so that we could enjoy his boom-boom 6's.

KKR Wins - Dada rules IPL 2010

What a match to begin the IPL 2010 season!!! A treat for KKR fans. The opening ceremony of IPL 2010 took place at DY Patil Stadium which was followed by a match between KKR and Deccan Chargers. The atmosphere in the ground was electrifying. Gilly won the toss and elected to field. Vass, who is out of international cricket struck with the 1st ball of the match. Ganguly, who came in next, followed Thiwari in the same over. Two more wickets went down in quick succession. It was Mathews and Shah who came up with some brilliant performance and took the team to a reasonable score to defend. KKR was 161 for 4 at the end of 20 overs. Deccan Chargers were charging in the initial few overs of their chase. Once wickets started to fall, it stumbled like a pack of cards. Ganguly who was out for a duck, showed his class in the field in the form of captaincy. It was KKR who held their nerves till the end and won the match by 11 runs. KKR wins- Dada rules IPL 2010.

FEDERER ROCKS - WINS HIS 15TH GRAND SLAM

Finally, Wimbledon’09 has come to an end with a spectacular men’s singles-final. It’s always a nightmare for Andy Roddick to play against Roger Federer. It was a wonderful match which lasted for nearly 4hours and 15 minutes. Roddick, who won the first set 7-5, lost the next two sets to Federer. Roddick, who was lagging the fourth set 0-2, came back strongly and won the fourth set as 6-3. The final set lasted for more than an hour before Federer won it in dramatic style 16-14. This is Federer’s 15th grand slam title going past Pete Sampras’s 14 grand slam titles. Pete who was present for this marathon match uttered that he (Roger) is an icon. Roddick has lost the match, but he has won the hearts of millions of tennis fans for his amazing game that he played. The 27 year old Swiss player has clinched his 6th Wimbledon title just one behind Sampras who has won 7 Wimbledon titles. He is not far away from breaking this record. Roger is now at the top of the ranks table after winning the Wimbledon title 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14.

2011 World Cup final - To be hosted in India

India ll host de final nd 1 semi-final of de 2011 World Cup while Sri Lanka ll host de other semi-final.India ll stage 29 of de 49 matches across 8 venues, Sri Lanka ll stage 12 across 3 venues while Bangladesh ll host 8 at 2 grounds as well as the opening ceremony on February 18, 2011.

De 14 matches originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan have been rescheduled wid 8 to India, 4 to Sri Lanka nd 2 to Bangladesh. The quarter-finals ll be shared among de 3 neighbours, with Bangladesh hosting two.

De committee also decided to shift de tournament secretariat 4m Lahore to Mumbai.

Event's managing director - BCCI's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty

Organising committee - Sharad Pawar (Head) , Mahbubul Anam , Srinivasan , Duleep Mendis and Shetty.

IS Bindra - would be a key person in the management of the World Cup.

De subcontinent last hosted a World Cup in 1996, when India, Pakistan nd Sri Lanka shared de games. De final was in Lahore, wr Sri Lanka beat favourites Australia in a famous win.

IPL 2008

   

Top run scorers in IPL 2008

    

“Dada” Quits

Well, Dada finally announced his retirement from international cricket today. This is probably rated as an end of an era. Ganguly, who has appeared in 311 ODI matches, has scored 10000 plus runs with a healthy batting average of 41 approximately. Till date, he has played above 100 test matches and has scored 6800 odd runs with approximately the same batting average as in the ODIs. With nearly 18000 international cricket runs under his belt, he is the best left hand batsman India has ever produced. He is known for his massive hits and when it comes to total number of ODI sixes, he is one among the top five in the list. He has a highest score of 183 that came against the mighty Sri Lankan team in the ’99 world cup match at Taunton. His 1st double ton (239) in test match came against Pakistan during December 2007. It was a brilliant effort from him when the team lost 4 wickets for just 60 odd runs. He along with Yuvraj (another century maker in that innings) rescued India. By far, Ganguly is the best captain that India has ever had and has an excellent record as a captain as well as a player. He was handy with his bowling too. In recent past, he was in and out of the team many times. This may be one of the reasons for his retirement. ‘Fab Four’ now became ‘Fab Three’. Soon we will be seeing the retirement of ‘The Wall’ too. And finally let’s hope that Ganguly performs well in his last series against Australia. Let us all pay tribute to him-one of the legends of the game.

Will the 'Tiger' roar against the 'Kangaroos'?

After a lot of controversies, Saurav Ganguly has been included in the test squad for the series against Australia. Ganguly was not picked up in the “Rest of India” team that played a match against the Ranji Trophy Champions “Delhi”. He was dropped by Dilip Vengsarkar, who was the chairman of the selection committee during the last season. Kris Srikkanth, who is the new chairman of the selection committee, along with his team officials, has included Dada in the test match squad for the series against Australia which is scheduled to commence on October 9th. Many people are referring this as a ‘come back’ for Ganguly. This is not a ‘come back’ for him. He was there in the Indian team which played their last test match against Sri Lanka. After he was named one among the 15 members for the upcoming series, he was asked to play a match for India ‘A’ against the Kiwi ‘A’ team. He was run out for just 14 runs in the 1st innings and was out for just 6 runs in the 2nd innings. This doesn’t sound good for a player of his class. Well, will Ganguly shine in the upcoming test series? Will he prove good to Kris, who selected him in the Indian team? Let us all wait and watch. Keep your fingers crossed to see how the ‘Bengal Tiger’ performs in the series against the kangaroos. Let’s hope that the ‘Tiger’ will roar and make ‘Kangaroo’ as its prey..

End for Dada?

Ah. Ganguly, ‘The Prince of Kolkata’ – ‘Dada’ as he is being called has not been picked up in the 14 member Rest of India team for the five day Zal Irani trophy match against Delhi to be played at Vadodara starting on September 24.The selection committee picked up the Little Master, The Wall and the Hyderabad wrist batsman in the Rest of India team. Thus the team has a strong middle order. The ‘Bengal Tiger’ has been dropped for the 2008-09 season openers. He has not been picked up in the ODI squad for the past one year or so. He captained ‘knight riders’ in the IPL tournament, where he failed to perform to his standards. He was selected only for the longer version of the game in the last 10-12 months. But now, the entire scenario is going against him. Dada, the most successful captain of India may very well be dropped for the home series against Aussies which is scheduled to start next month. This may be the beginning of the end of Dada's cricket era on field.

Yet Another Cricket Ball

Cricket in this world came into existence right from the 16th century. It was only during the 18th century, international cricket came into being. By tat time, this world was witnessing only test cricket. A red ball was used for this format of the game. Then the one day international matches into the world. At first, red color ball was used for this format of the game too, as the players were asked to wear white clothes. But during 1980’s, players were given bright colored clothes. As a result of this white color ball came into practice in ODI. Now, recently, pink color cricket ball made its debut on September 3rd 2008, in a batch between Hampshire and Essex. It was a T20 format played under a floodlit in which Hampshire bet Essex.

A History of the Olympics

According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of Zeus. Yet the first Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BC. At this Olympic Games, a naked runner, Coroebus , won the sole event at the Olympics, the stade - a run of approximately 192 meters (210 yards). This made Coroebus the very first Olympic champion in history.

The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. In 393 CE, the Roman emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, abolished the Games because of their pagan influences.

Approximately 1500 years later, a young Frenchmen named Pierre de Coubertin began their revival. Coubertin is now known as le Rénovateur. Coubertin was a French aristocrat born on January 1, 1863. He was only seven years old when France was overrun by the Germans during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

Coubertin's attempt to get France interested in sports was not met with enthusiasm. Still, Coubertin persisted. In 1890, he organized and founded a sports organization, Union des Sociétés Francaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA). Two years later, Coubertin first pitched his idea to revive the Olympic Games. At a meeting of the Union des Sports Athlétiques in Paris on November 25, 1892, Coubertin stated,
"Let us export our oarsmen, our runners, our fencers into other lands".

His speech did not inspire action. Though Coubertin was not the first to propose the revival of the Olympic Games, he was certainly the most well-connected and persistent of those to do so. Two years later, Coubertin organized a meeting with 79 delegates who represented nine countries. He gathered these delegates in an auditorium that was decorated by neoclassical murals and similar additional points of ambiance. At this meeting, Coubertin movingly spoke of the revival of the Olympic Games. This time, Coubertin aroused interest.

The delegates at the conference voted unanimously for the Olympic Games. The delegates also decided to have Coubertin construct an international committee to organize the Games. This committee became the International Olympic Committee (IOC; Comité Internationale Olympique) and Demetrious Vikelas from Greece was selected to be its first president. Athens was chosen for the revival of the Olympic Games and the planning was begun.

The Secret Behind the Ashes Victory

Former England opener Marcus Trescothick’s in his new autobiography "Coming Back to me" revelation that he illegally used breath mints(Murray Mints) to help his bowlers gain extra swing during the 2005 Ashes series has received a mixed reaction in Australia.He admitted in his new autobiography that his chief job in the field was to shine the ball using “a bit of spit and a lot of polish” with the aid of the breath sweets.This has claimed mixed reactions from players in the field of cricket for going public with the story.

England stunned the cricket world with a 2-1 win in the 2005 Ashes, their first series win against the Australians in 18 years.The reverse swing achieved by England’s bowlers, led by Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones, was a major factor in the upset victory.

He also revealed that he happened to drop the mints from his pant pockets while taking a catch but neither the umpires nor the batsman happened to notice it.

Some cricketing giants say that it was a tactic to increase the sales of his book.At least now we know why England lost the (next) Ashes: they lost their minty guy.

Anyway they got away with it, good luck to them. You can`t change the result of the Test series, so it`s no good worrying about it

Famous Quotes abt Sachin - 'The Little Master'

"Sachin Tendulkar is the hardest batsman I've ever had to bowl to because he judges the length a lot quicker than anyone else"- Shane Warne

"Sachin Tendulkar is, in my time, the best player without doubt - daylight second, Brian Lara third"- Shane Warne

"I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player." - Warne

"Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours"-Michael Kasprowicz

"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it"- Hashim Amla

"If I've to bowl to Sachin, I'll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard" - Great Dennis lillee

"You take Don Bradman away and he is next up I reckon"- Steve Waugh

"In an over I can bowl six different balls. But then Sachin looks at me with a sort of gentle arrogance down the pitch as if to say 'Can you bowl me another one?" - Adam Hollioke

"The most exciting batsman of his time because he finds the right balance between reason and passion, technique and power, nerves and placement and judgement that applies to all tastes." - Australian Media

I believe people will love to read this article
http://www.india-today.com/itoday/04051998/sport.html

"I'd like to see him go out and bat one day with a stump. I tell you he'd do okay." - Greg Chappell.

"He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease. "- Greg Chappell

"He is cool, has magnificent temperament, and is so mature you tend to forget his age. I can't think of any other example of a player who has so dominated the world before the age of 25." - Tony Greig

"Sachin should appologize for the way he has played"- Wasim Akram
on sachin's 98 in wc 2003

"I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...his compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel !" - Sir Bradman

"For me, the best batsman in the world is Sachin Tendulkar. I admire Jacques Kallis' consistency and Ricky Ponting, with the purple patch he's going though. Everybody gets 15 minutes of fame. But if there's one person I've admired over a 15-year period, it's definitely Sachin."- Brian Charles Lara

"Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives." - BBC Sports

Sahin - The Super Star ; Sir Don Bradman - The Legend

When Sachin Tendulkar matched the Don…
That’s the tagline most Indian fans would like to read. (But they do not care that much really; they still love their heroes –with all his flaws and failings. Always the mark of a man whose ability outweighs his fallacy.) When Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz’s record, no one was even thinking of Bradman or of his extraordinary skills in the game. This was not to belittle Bradman. Rather he speaks volumes that few even think he can be surpassed. The fact of the matter remains that Sachin Tendulkar is one of the best players of the modern game and naturally gifted. But not even the best come close to surpassing the legendary late Sir Don Bradman.


It was a moment recorded in time – the day Sachin Tendulkar met Bradman on the latter’s ninety-first birthday. And it was also a record when Tendulkar equaled the legendary Australian hero’s most Test centuries tally of 29 in the West Indies in 2002. But the comparisons must be drawn there and left there. Both men belong to different times. One has become a legend of past folklore; the other, very close to being a living legend.
The only reason that Tendulkar can be called close to being a living legend is because he still has many miles to go. His talent demands it; though his body is increasingly beginning to suggest otherwise. If Bradman played till he was forty, Tendulkar needs to ensure his body holds up before he leaves his number unreachable as did Bradman.
Bradman scored his first Test century in his second Test; Tendulkar had to wait nine. But thereafter Tendulkar picked up the tempo though perhaps not in the same league as Bradman, a tough to emulate for even the best in the business.
The factor that has most gone against Tendulkar has been the fact that India have not won enough with him in the side. It is an argument that echoes incessantly, even in a team game where ten other players had a role to play in how history was made. But this is just one of the many burdens Tendulkar carries on his shoulders. Some reckon he cannot be taken in the same breath because Tendulkar has not managed to score a triple century in international cricket and Virender Sehwag has already done it twice. But by the same standards, Sehwag cannot be compared to a Bradman on the lone feat. That tells something of the lasting legacy that the great man from Australia left behind.
Bradman, on the other hand, has even Tendulkar in awe. The latter is known to have said that comparisons with Sir Don was not possible given the Australian’s awesome ability to score a century every third innings. Tendulkar has not done badly himself but that was what meeting a man whose heroics are told rather than seen, shared rather than experienced.
Tendulkar is the cynosure of all eyes and hence, perhaps the advent of television and live action through the world attract the global attention and subsequently, criticism. Brian Lara is considered a more swashbuckling batsmen, Tendulkar innovative. Yet in the context of the Bradman discussion, it would have been the icing on the cake even for a man making his own path like Sachin to be told that Bradman thought his technique was almost akin to his own.
The somewhat unfair criticisms are something that do not even spare Bradman. Cricket writers are sometimes too critical of scenarios that were simply not possible in Bradman’s day. There are views expressed on how Bradman would have coped with Twenty20 or of how his Test record would have languished had there been another opponent of worth other than England or that he would not have lasted to reach this average if he played the one day game as well.
It seems rather unfair to take a knife to the man who made cricket what it is at a time when all it gave was hope for a nation. His phenomenal statistics supersede any irrelevant conjectures about something that is simply not possible. He did face some of the faster bowlers of his time. His team went through the ups and downs and did face one of the most negatively devised tactics of Bodyline. Bradman was very much a mortal in that it was his deficiency in playing the shorter, rising delivery that was exploited by the then England captain, Douglas Jardine. Even then Bradman managed to average of fifty. The World War deprived him of eight years. His family life was not always a bliss but through it all, he still held grace and delivered. There were no extravagant endorsement cheques in his days and yet it did not matter to him. The purity of the game is also what makes it pristine. It is hard to imagine that any other player would take the field for the first time for his country purely on Bradman’s principles alone. They are perhaps thinking more on the lines of Tendulkar, not through the man’s faults, but with the dangling carrot of a world of financial opportunities that a cricket career brings in its wake these days.
Would the world want another Bradman? Perhaps not. After all his records, his legend has stood over sixty years since he hung up his boots. Sachin Tendulkar has been a phenomenon in his own right. Others have stretched him, like Ricky Ponting. Sachin Tendulkar will continue to be revered because he is a legend in his own right. As is Brian Lara. As perhaps will be Ponting when he hangs up his boots. It will be hard to find another Sachin Tendulkar. But teams will hope for one like him. But most people definitely know there will be none like Bradman. It has perhaps little to do with logic, though the statistics make for a good case. But like mention before, what is not seen but heard and enumerated seems to hold more magnetism than a hero whose game can be dissected even by those who can never play that way.
Sir Don Bradman is in a class of his own. To be subjected to comparisons takes away from him the immemorial, enduring image of the man who epitomized the game and its spirit. He continues to remain unsurpassed.

Glimpse at Sachin's Profile

Tendulkar (born 24 April, 1973 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) is a record-breaking Indian cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. In 2002, Wisden rated him as the second greatest Test batsman after Sir Donald Bradman, and the second greatest One-day international batsman behind Sir Vivian Richards. In 2003, this list was revised where Tendulkar was ranked No. 1 and Richards at No. 2.

He holds several highly regarded batting records and is the leading scorer of centuries in both Test cricket and one-day internationals. He is one of the three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in Test cricket, and the first Indian to do so. He is the most prolific run scorer in ODIs by a margin of over 4000 runs and has scored the most runs in international cricket as a whole. He crossed 16,000 runs in ODIs on February 5, 2008 while playing against Sri Lanka in Brisbane, Australia. Affectionately called 'The Little Master' or 'The Master Blaster', Tendulkar made his first-class debut for the Mumbai cricket team aged 14 and scored a century on debut. He made his international test debut in 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi at age 16.

He is the only cricketer to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honour and the only cricketer and one of the first sportsmen (along with Vishwanathan Anand ) to receive Padma Vibhushan (2008), the second highest civilian honor of India. He is the most sponsored player in world cricket and has a huge fan following even amongst foreign audiences. Tendulkar has made numerous commercial ventures including opening a chain of restaurants in India.

Name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Born 24 April 1973, Mumbai
Major Teams Mumbai, Yorkshire, India, ACC Asian XI
Batting Style Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style Right Arm Off Break, Leg Break, Right Arm Medium
Test Debut 15-20 Nov,1989 (Ind vs Pak at Karachi)
ODI Debut 18 Dec 1989 (Ind vs Pak at Gujranwala)

Sachin Tendulkar-The Greatest Batsman Alive

The name itself strikes terror in the hearts of bowlers all around the world. Hailed as the master-blaster following the legacy of the great West Indian Vivian Richards, this man has all the shots in the book, and a few more. There is nothing this man cannot do - he opens the batting for India in the one-dayers, comes at no. 4 in test matches, bowls rightarm offbreaks, legbreaks and even googlies (the wrong-un). He also swings the ball both ways when he bowls his medium pacers. It seems he had tried his hands at wicket-keeping too (in his school days), but gave it up in pursuit of what he does best - Batting.

A child prodigy, he made his international debut in ODIs and Tests at the age of 16 ( yes 16 ) against Pakistan and the fiery pace of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis . He then went to England as a part of the national side, and has not looked back ever since. In batting, he has reached a stage that others can only dream of. He has destroyed practically every bowling opposition in the world - from Shane Warne (Aus.) to Saqlain Mushtaq (Pak.) , and Waqar Younis (Pak.) to Allan Donald (RSA) , and in style . Tendulkar 'specialites' include the straight drive (seemingly nobody plays the shot better than him ), the cover drive, the square cut, the pullshot over midwicket/square leg, the delicate leg glance, the late cut, the lofted shots over mid-on and mid-off and not to mention the improvisations he keeps coming up with time and again. He plays each of his shots amazingly well and has even employed the reverse sweep to good effect. A short but powerful man, some of his shots are hit with so much power that the ball simply rockets to the fence as if he was trying to dismiss the ball from his presence. On the other hand, some of his shots are simply timed and placed well. His timing can be quite exquisite and it is this blend of timing and raw power that puts him in the top league with Brian Lara (W.I.) ,Waugh Twins(Mark and Steve, Aus.) and Ricky Ponting (Aus.).

Always involved in the game, he never hesitates to give his inputs to the captain or to the bowlers. His selfless approach and devotion to cricket coupled with the lack of any ego problems makes him one of the most approachable and likeable personalities on the cricket field. No wonder he commands a huge fan following all over the world. He is a great thinker of the game and a good strategist too.It was his great cricketing mind that saw him being appointed as the captain of the Indian side in 1996-97 making him the second youngest captain in the history of Indian cricket (the youngest being M.A.K. Pataudi who was appointed captain at the age of 21). He initially justified the faith put in him by leading India to series victories against Australia (Border - Gavaskar Trophy), South Africa (at home) and also lifted the TITAN cup (Triangular tournament featuring India, Australia & South Africa). But after that, the performances dropped. He was not given the squad that he wanted and India started losing under an unhappy captain. As usual, the skipper was made the scape-goat and citing his lack of form (!!! he had scored more than a thousand runs in both ODIs and Tests in 1997 - a record) was removed from captaincy. Since then, he has flourished with both the bat and the ball, and is thus back to his true self and the job he loves the most - winning matches for India.

Now, this man is set out to be the highest run getter in the history of world cricket. He has already won rich praises from people and fellow/former cricketers who see in him a living legend and a master batsman who is leagues above his fellow cricketers.
Truly, a living legend and a great champion.