Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born April 24, 1973 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, often referred to as The Little Master or The Master Blaster,is an Indian cricketer 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 greatest One-day international batsman.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.At 13, Tendulkar was the best player in the Mumbai schools competition for Under 19s. At 14,Tendulkar made his first-class debut for the Mumbai cricket team and scored a century on debut. He made his international test debut in 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi at age 16. He scored his first international century at just 17.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 to receive the Padma Vibhushan (2008), the second highest civilian honour 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.
Tendulkar is ambidextrous: He 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 the Caribbean Islands 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.
Sir Donald Bradman, 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.Former 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 due to that fact that (1) No batsman can bat the same way for the entire length of a long career and (2) He is a senior member of the team now and thus has more respoity. However, it cannot be denied that his batting became less attractive since 2004 and while a string of his highest scores have come within this time period, the consistency has been lacking.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, recently remarked that "Tendulkar now, is nothing like the player he was when he was a young bloke" However, during the latest tour of Australia in 2008, Tendulkar displayed glimpses of his attacking style with several masterful innings, dominating attacks in a manner reminiscent of his younger days.While Tendulkar is not a regular bowler, he is adept at bowling medium pace, leg spin, and off spin with equal ease. He often bowls when two batsmen of the opposite team have been batting together for a long period, and he can often be a useful partnership breaker. With his bowling, he has helped secure an Indian victory on more than one occasion.