On November 16, 2013, when the batting legend Sachin Tendulkar decided to bid adieu from the game; he is regarded as the ‘God’ of, millions of eyes shed tears of joy and sorrow at the same time.
While Sachin Tendulkar delivered his last speech with choked words and moist eyes; tens of thousands of his fans stood in the Wankhede stadium holding their breaths as the euphoria of catching the last glimpse of their favorite Indian cricketer on his home ground surmounted.
India, where cricket is the religion, and the stadiums scream of the infamous “Sachin….Sachin”, it would be considered a sin to not know this man who has made fans across the globe go breathless with his beautiful strokes, timeless elegance, calm demeanor on the field and his relentless dedication to the game.
Yes, we are talking about Sachin Tendulkar- the God of Cricket. And if you want to watch hand-picked stories that are unseen and unheard of, watch them here:
An unparalleled career that was further glorified with grand records created and broken by the ‘Little Master’ has been an inspiration for many national and international sportspersons who dare to dream.
Bringing some of the most untouched aspects from his life, we are going to tell you 9 interesting facts that we bet you probably did not know:
- Sachin Tendulkar is considered to be the best batsman, to date. But did you know that he wanted to become a fast bowler? However, when he went to the MRF Pace Foundation, Australian legend Dennis Lillee asked him to focus on his batting instead.
- Sachin Tendulkar bats and bowls from his right hand. But he writes from his left hand. This makes this legend ambidextrous too.
- Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed by Australian pacer Brett Lee for a record 14 times. This is the highest by any bowler.
- Sachin`s first car was a Maruti-800, and you know what, he still owns it.
- In 1987, during Pakistan`s tour of India, Sachin was sent in as a substitute fielder when Abdul Qadir and Javed Miandad went during lunchtime.
Remembering this incident, Sachin writes in his book “Playing it My Way”, “I don’t know whether Imran Khan remembers this or has any idea that I once fielded for his Pakistan team”.
- Sachin Tendulkar was the first international batsman who was given out by the third umpire, Jonty Rhodes in 1992 against South Africa.
- Tendulkar`s coach Ramakant Achrekar used to give him a Re 1 coin whenever he completed his entire practice session without getting dismissed. To date, this cricket legend has kept the collection of 13 coins with him.
- In Manchester, 1990, for his maiden Test ton, Sachin was awarded a bottle of champagne. But as the British rules didn’t allow people under 18 to drink, he waited for 8 year and opened the bottle on his daughter Sara`s first birthday in 1998.
- Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian cricketer who has received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award, and Padma Shri by the Indian government.
So what do you think, did you know the God of cricket as well as you thought you did? Let us know in the comment section below.