Sachin Tendullkar

                     Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (born 24 April 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen 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, the holder of the record for the number of runs in both ODI and Test cricket, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket.

                 In 2002, just halfway 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 ODIs. He retired from Twenty20 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 in total, scoring 34,357 runs.               

Early years

                  Tendulkar was born at Nirmal Nursing Home in Dadar, Bombay on 24 April 1973 in a Maharashtrian family. 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. Although, Sachin has not mentioned this even in his autobiography. He spent his formative years in the Sahitya Sahawas Cooperative Housing Society in 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 Sachin to Ramakant Achrekar, a famous cricket coach and a club cricketer of repute, at Shivaji Park, Dadar. In the first meeting, the young Sachin 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, Sachin, apparently unobserved, played much better and was accepted at Achrekar's academy. Ajit is ten years elder and is credited by Sachin 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 (East). 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.

            Sachin Tendulkar and his wife AnjaliMeanwhile, 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. Sachin 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 Bombay'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 Bombay, 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 Bombay Cricket Association's "Best junior cricket award" (He was 14 years that time). "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. Sachin served as a ball boy in the 1987 Cricket World Cup when India played against England in the semifinal in Bombay. 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.            

Early domestic career

                  On 14 November 1987, Tendulkar was selected to represent Bombay in the Ranji Trophy, India's premier domestic First-class cricket tournament, for the 1987–88 season. However, he was not selected for the final eleven in any of the matches, though he was often used as a substitute fielder. He narrowly missed out on playing alongside his idol Gavaskar, who had retired from all forms of cricket after the 1987 Cricket World Cup. A year later, on 11 December 1988, aged just 15 years and 232 days, Tendulkar made his debut for Bombay against Gujarat at home and scored 100 not out in that match, making him the youngest Indian to score a century on debut in first-class cricket. He was handpicked to play for the team by the then Bombay captain Dilip Vengsarkar after watching him easily negotiating India's best fast bowler at the time, Kapil Dev, in the Wankhede Stadium nets,where the Indian team had come to play against the touring New Zealand team. He followed this by scoring a century in his first Deodhar and Duleep Trophies, which are also Indian domestic tournaments.

                     Tendulkar (left) with former Vice president of BCCI, late Dnyaneshwar Agashe (center) and Sourav Ganguly (right) Tendulkar finished the 1988–89 season as Bombay's highest run-scorer. He scored 583 runs at an average of 67.77, and was the sixth highest run-scorer overall He also made an unbeaten century in the Irani Trophy match against Delhi at the start of the 1989–90 season, playing for the Rest of India. Sachin was picked for a young Indian team to tour England twice, under the Star Cricket Club banner in 1988 and 1989. In the famous 1990–91 Ranji Trophy final, in which Haryana defeated Bombay by two runs after leading in the first innings, Tendulkar's 96 from 75 deliveries was a key to giving Bombay a chance of victory as it attempted to chase 355 from only 70 overs on the final day.

                    His first double century (204*) was for Mumbai while playing against the visiting Australian team at the Brabourne Stadium in 1998. He is the only player to score a century on debut in all three of his domestic first-class tournaments (the Ranji, Irani, and Duleep Trophies). Another double century was an innings of 233* against Tamil Nadu in the semi-finals of the 2000 Ranji Trophy, which he regards as one of the best innings of his career. 

International career

                  Raj Singh Dungarpur is credited for the selection of Tendulkar 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 Sachin 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, a summer tour to England of 1990, on 14 August, 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, an innings which contributed to a draw and saved India from certain defeat in the match. Wisden described his innings as "a disciplined display of immense maturity" and also wrote:

                  He looked the embodiment of India's famous opener, Gavaskar, and indeed was wearing a pair of his pads. While he displayed a full repertoire of strokes in compiling his maiden Test hundred, most remarkable were his off-side shots from the back foot. Though only 5ft 5in tall, he was still able to control without difficulty short deliveries from the English pacemen.

                 Tendulkar further enhanced his reputation as a future great during the 1991–92 tour of Australia held before the 1992 Cricket World Cup, that included an unbeaten 148 in the third Test at Sydney, making him the youngest batsman to score a century in Australia. He then scored 114 on a fast, bouncing pitch in the final Test at Perth against a pace attack comprising Merv Hughes, Bruce Reid and Craig McDermott. Hughes commented to Allan Border at the time that "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB.

Rise through the ranks

               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 78 ODIs to score his first century.

              Tendulkar waits at the bowler's end. 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 Sachin 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.[citation needed] 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 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'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.    

Home series against South Africa

                 South Africa toured in March and April 2008 for a three-Test series. Tendulkar scored a five-ball duck in his only innings of the series; he sustained a groin strain in the match and as a result was forced not only to miss the second and third Tests, but also the tri-series involving Bangladesh, the 2008 Asia Cup, and the first half of the inaugural season of the IPL.

                   2011 World Cup and after From February to April, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka hosted the 2011 World Cup. Amassing 482 runs at an average of 53.55 including two centuries, Tendulkar was India's leading run-scorer for the tournament; only Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka scored more runs in the 2011 tournament India defeated Sri Lanka in the final. Shortly after the victory, Tendulkar commented that "Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. ... I couldn't control my tears of joy.

                 Tendulkar's results in international matches India were due to tour the West Indies in June, although Tendulkar chose not to participate. He returned to the squad in July for India's tour of England. Throughout the tour there was much hype in the media about whether Tendulkar would reach his 100th century in international cricket. However his highest score in the Tests was 91; Tendulkar averaged 34.12 in the series as England won 4–0 as they deposed India as the No. 1 ranked Test side.The injury Tendulkar sustained to his right foot in 2001 flared up and as a result he was ruled out of the ODI series that followed. Tendulkar created another record on 8 November 2011 when he became the first cricketer to score 15,000 runs in Test cricket, during the opening Test match against the West Indies at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi.

                 Ian Chappell was not happy with Sachin's performance after India's tour of Australia. He says that Sachin's quest for his 100th hundred has proved to be a hurdle for the entire team and has hampered their performance on the Tour of Australia. Former India World Cup winning captain and all-rounder Kapil Dev has also voiced his opinion that Sachin should have retired from ODI's after the World Cup. Former Australian fast bowler, Geoff Lawson, has said that Sachin has the right to decide when to quit although he adds that Tendulkar should not delay it for too long. The selection committee of BCCI expectedly included Sachin in the national Test squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand commencing in August 2012.

Sri Lanka Series

                     Before the touring Sri Lanka for three Test in July 2008, Tendulkar needed just 177 runs to go past Brian Lara's record of Test 11,953 runs. However, he failed in all six innings, scoring a total of just 95 runs. India lost the series and his average of 15.83 was his worst in a Test series with at least three matches.

Return to form and breaking Brian Lara's record

                In the following ODI series against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar was sidelined due to injury. However, during the following Australia tour of India, he returned to fitness and form, scoring 13 and 49 in the first Test before making 88 in the first innings of the second Test, breaking the record for most number of Test runs held by Brian Lara. He also reached the 12,000 run mark when he was on 61. He described the achievement as the biggest in 19 years of his career on the day he achieved the record. He made a fifty in the third Test and 109 in the fourth, as India won the series 2–0 and regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

ODI and Test Series against England

                  Tendulkar was again out of the first three ODIs of a seven-match ODI series at home against England due to an injury, but he made 11 in the fourth ODI and 50 in the fifth, before the series was called off due to the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, the scoreline being 5–0 to India.

                 England returned for a two-match Test series in December 2008, and the first Test, which was originally planned to be held in Mumbai, was shifted to Chennai following the terror attacks. Chasing 387 for victory in that match, Tendulkar scored 103 not out and shared a 163-run unbroken fifth wicket partnership with Yuvraj Singh. This was his third century in the fourth innings of a Test match, and the first which resulted in a win. He dedicated this century to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks. Tendulkar failed in both innings in the second Test at Mohali, which ended in a draw. India won the series 1–0.

2011 World Cup and after

                  From February to April, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka hosted the 2011 World Cup. Amassing 482 runs at an average of 53.55 including two centuries, Tendulkar was India's leading run-scorer for the tournament; only Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka scored more runs in the 2011 tournament. India defeated Sri Lanka in the final. Shortly after the victory, Tendulkar commented that "Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. ... I couldn't control my tears of joy.

                Tendulkar's results in international matches India were due to tour the West Indies in June, although Tendulkar chose not to participate. He returned to the squad in July for India's tour of England. Throughout the tour there was much hype in the media about whether Tendulkar would reach his 100th century in international cricket. However his highest score in the Tests was 91; Tendulkar averaged 34.12 in the series as England won 4–0 as they deposed India as the No. 1 ranked Test side.The injury Tendulkar sustained to his right foot in 2001 flared up and as a result he was ruled out of the ODI series that followed. Tendulkar created another record on 8 November 2011 when he became the first cricketer to score 15,000 runs in Test cricket, during the opening Test match against the West Indies at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi.


             Ian Chappell was not happy with Sachin's performance after India's tour of Australia. He says that Sachin's quest for his 100th hundred has proved to be a hurdle for the entire team and has hampered their performance on the Tour of Australia. Former India World Cup winning captain and all-rounder Kapil Dev has also voiced his opinion that Sachin should have retired from ODI's after the World Cup. Former Australian fast bowler, Geoff Lawson, has said that Sachin has the right to decide when to quit although he adds that Tendulkar should not delay it for too long. The selection committee of BCCI expectedly included Sachin in the national Test squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand commencing in August 2012.

100th international century

                Tendulkar scored his much awaited 100th international hundred on 16 March 2012, at Mirpur against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. He became the first person in history to achieve this feat. Incidentally, it was Tendulkar's first ODI hundred against Bangladesh. He said "It's been a tough phase for me ... I was not thinking about the milestone, the media started all this, wherever I went, the restaurant, room service, everyone was talking about the 100th hundred. Nobody talked about my 99 hundreds. It became mentally tough for me because nobody talked about my 99 hundreds. Despite Tendulkar's century, India failed to win the match against Bangladesh, losing by 5 wickets.

Return To Ranji Trophy

                   After getting out bowled on 3 similar instances against the New Zealand recently and hitting a slump in form, Tendulkar returned to the Ranji Trophy to get back some form ahead of the England Series at home, in a match for Mumbai against Railways on 2 November 2012. All eyes were on Tendulkar, who was playing his first Ranji Trophy match since 2009. And he did not disappoint smashing 137 off 136 balls with 21 fours and 3 Sixes, to take his team to 344 for 4 at stumps on day one.

                However, because of a poor form in the first two Tests in the series against England, and India being humiliated in the second match of that series by 10 wickets on 26 November 2012, some people have started to question his place in the Indian team. A report by The Hindustan Times said that Tendulkar had a discussion with the national chief selector Sandeep Patil, in which he said that he would leave it to the selectors to decide on his future as he is not getting any runs. This speculation, however, was later considered to be false.

                    Then he decided to play in the knockout stage of the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy. He scored 108 in the quarter final against Baroda before being bowled by Murtuja Vahora, where Sachin was involved in a 234-run partnership with opener Wasim Jaffer (150) for the 3rd wicket at Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai eventually piled on 645/9 and won on 1st innings lead. In the semi final against Services at Palam A Ground, with Mumbai reeling at 23/3, Sachin scored 56 from 75 balls and had an 81-run 4th wicket partnership with Abhishek Nayar (70), and Mumbai eventually won on 1st innings lead after the match went into the sixth day due to rain delays. In the final against Saurashtra, he was run out for 22 following a misunderstanding with Wasim Jaffer. Mumbai eventually won the Ranji Trophy 2012–13.


                   He also played in the Irani Trophy for Mumbai, where he scored 140* against Rest of India and helped Mumbai to score 409 in reply to Rest of India's 526. This was also his 81st hundred in first-class cricket, equalling Sunil Gavaskar's Indian record for most first-class hundreds.

Retirement

                   Sachin fielding at 199th Test match in Eden Gardens  For more details on 200th and final Test match, see West Indian cricket team in India in 2013–14. 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 Twenty20 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 Twenty20 cricket and limited-overs cricket, after playing the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 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).

Fan following

                  Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, a fan of Tendulkar who earned the privilege of tickets to all of India's home games
                
                Tendulkar's entry into world cricket was hyped up by former Indian stars and those who had seen him play. Tendulkar's consistent performances earned him a fan following across the globe, including amongst Australian crowds, where Tendulkar has consistently scored centuries. One of the most popular sayings by his fans is "Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God". Cricinfo mentions in his profile that "... Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world. During the Australian tour of India in 1998 Matthew Hayden said "I have seen God. He bats at no. 4 in India in Tests. However, on God, Tendulkar himself is reported to have said "I am not God of cricket. I make mistakes, God doesn't. Tendulkar made a special appearance in the Bollywood film Stumped in 2003, appearing as himself. Yet, he is the one perceived God-like national figure that unites a nation of many religions.

               There have been many instances when Tendulkar's fans have undertaken extreme activities over his dismissal in the game. As reported by many Indian newspapers, a person hanged himself due to distress over Tendulkar's failure to reach his 100th century. Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, a fan of Tendulkar from Bihar, has followed almost all the matches played by Sachin since 2003 and has sacrificed his personal life to watch Sachin's play.


                    At home in Mumbai, Tendulkar's fan following has caused him to lead a different lifestyle. Ian Chappell has said that he would be unable to cope with the lifestyle Tendulkar was forced to lead, having to "wear a wig and go out and watch a movie only at night". In an interview with Tim Sheridan, Tendulkar admitted that he sometimes went for quiet drives in the streets of Mumbai late at night when he would be able to enjoy some peace and silence. Tendulkar has a presence in the popular social networking site Twitter with the user name sachin_rt, since May 2010.

Personal lifeFamily

                  On 24 May 1995, at the age of 22, Tendulkar married Anjali, a paediatrician and daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta and British social worker Annabel Mehta. Sachin's father-in-law, Anand Mehta, is a seven-time national bridge champion. Anjali is six years his senior. His wife Anjali said in an interview that she first met him at the Mumbai airport when he returned from his first tour of England in 1990, after scoring his maiden Test ton and when she was there to pick up her mother and Sachin was arriving with the Indian team. They had a courtship of five years and had got engaged in 1994 in New Zealand.They have two children, Sara (born 12 October 1997) and Arjun (born 24 September 1999). Arjun, a left handed batsman and left arm seamer, has recently been included in under-14 probables list of Mumbai Cricket Association for off-season training camp. In January 2013 he was selected in Mumbai under-14 team for the west zone league. In 2015, he became a net bowler for English batsmen, having been a net batsman for India back in 2011 as an 11-year-old.

Beliefs

                 Tendulkar is a practising Hindu. He is an ardent devotee of Lord Ganesha and Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi. He has visited Puttaparthi on several occasions to seek Baba's blessings. In 1997, Tendulkar captained the Indian National side, playing against a World Eleven team, in the Unity Cup which was held at the Sri Sathya Sai Hill View Stadium in Puttaparthi, in Baba's presence. Sai Baba died on Sachin's 38th birthday, and after his death, Tendulkar broke into tears when he saw the body of Baba in Puttaparthi, and cancelled his birthday celebrations. The cricketer is also known to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at home and frequently visits temples during night when it is calm and quiet. He performed the rituals of Nāga Dosha Pooja and Sarpa Samskara in 2006 at the Kukke Subramanya Temple in Mangalore.

Business interests

                  Tendulkar's immense popularity has led him to be an early pioneer in India on cricket business dealings when he signed a record sports management deal with WorldTel in 1995, the value of the deal being ₹30 crore (US$4.5 million) over five years. His next contract with WorldTel in 2001 was valued at ₹80 crore (US$12 million) over five years. In 2006, he signed a contract with Saatchi and Saatchi's ICONIX valued at ₹180 crore (US$27 million) over three years.

                    Tendulkar has opened two restaurants: Tendulkar's (Colaba, Mumbai) and Sachin's (Mulund, Mumbai) and Bangalore. Sachin owns these restaurants in partnership with Sanjay Narang of Mars Restaurants.

                   In 2007, Tendulkar also announced a JV with the Future Group and Manipal Group to launch healthcare and sports fitness products under the brand name 'S Drive and Sach'. A series of comic books by Virgin Comics is also due to be published featuring him as a superhero.

                  Sachin Tendulkar co-owns the Kochi ISL team in the Indian Super League Football in association with PVP Ventures owned by Prasad V Potluri. The team has been named as Kerala Blasters after his nickname "Master Blaster". He also jointly owns the badminton team Bengaluru Blasters which participates in the Premier Badminton League.


                         Tendulkar is the 51st richest sportsman in the world according to Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes for the year 2013, with his total earnings estimated to be USD 22 million. In October 2013, the net worth of Tendulkar was estimated at USD 160 million by Wealth X, making him India's wealthiest cricket player.

Biographies Books of  Sachin

                 Sachin Tendulkar has been the subject of various books. The following is the listing of books focused on Tendulkar's career:

                     Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global.

               Sachin Tendulkar Opus The A to Z of Sachin Tendulkar by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global.

                     Sachin Tendulkar-a definitive biography by Vaibhav Purandare. Publisher: Roli Books.
                   Sachin Tendulkar – Masterful by Peter Murray, Ashish Shukla. Publisher: Rupa. 

            If Cricket is a Religion, Sachin is God by Vijay Santhanam, Shyam Balasubramanian. Publisher: HarperCollins India

                  Master Stroke: 100 Centuries of Sachin Tendulkar by Neelima Athalye. Publisher: Sakal Publications. 
                     Dhruvtara, a book on cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar, was launched as an audio book on Monday, 15 October 2012 to mark White Cane Day.

                Sachin ke sau shatak by Dharmender Panth, a book on Tendulkar's 100 centuries written in Hindi. 

          Sachin Tendulkar: Masterful by Peter Murray, Ashish Shukla. Publisher:Murray Advertising.
                

 Films

               Sachin: A Billion Dreams, an upcoming Indian film directed by James Erskine is based on the life of Tendulkar.      

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Author & Editor

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