1. Most number of runs in the history of cricket. (34,357 runs)
2. Maximum number of international centuries. (100 centuries)
3. Most number of matches played by any player. (664 matches)
There are many more. This blog is too small to accommodate all of them.
Sachin Tendulkar was a young lad, 16 years old when he made his debut for India. He started playing cricket at the age of 11, as a punishment from his brother Ajit Tendulkar. There, at the coaching club, he met Ramakant Achrekar or Achrekar Sir, Tendulkar’s first coach. From that moment, he fell in love with the game. He would go to Shivaji Park every day, first batting in three different nets, then batting for some time, then taking throw downs from his friends and then batting again in different nets before finally hitting the sack.
You might have read the word ‘batting’ in the above lines many times. This was Sachin Tendulkar’s life. Batting, batting and batting. Yuvraj Singh has written in his book, that first his life was cricket, cricket and cricket. Then, after cancer, his life was cricket, cricket and cancer. It was similar with Sachin, just there was no change in the three words.
The magic that started right from his debut innings when the little boy faced the fierce attack by Wasim Akrams, Imran Khans and Waqar Younises of the world; and continued till his last innings at the Wankhede. What happened in between is possibly the biggest history created by any individual on a cricket field. When the Little Master retired there were tears in everyone’s eyes. But the tears were of joy, not sadness. He had inspired a generation of players and people, inspiring them to play for India and giving them the belief that Indians can beat other countries in their own backyard, not only at home.
This is his retirement speech:
Now comes perhaps the biggest question in Indian cricket history: Who after Tendulkar? There are many talented young batsmen in the Indian squad, like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara in Test cricket. But none of them can fill the boots of Sachin Tendulkar. Many fans have said that Virat Kohli is the replacement for Tendulkar, but Virat Kohli is still struggling in Test cricket. Some say Cheteshwar Pujara, but he still has not been tested on foreign soil and not even in One-Day cricket. Some say Shikhar Dhawan, but he is still in the start of his career. And some say Rohit Sharma, but even he has just started his Test career. We will have to see how these batsmen fare in the upcoming South Africa tour.
Rest assured, I bid adieu again to Sachin Tendulkar for inspiring so many generations of people. As it is said, God can retire from the field, but he will never retire from our hearts.
