Could Sachin Tendulkar be the greatest cricketer of all time?
Many regard Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest batsman to ever play the game of cricket. This is a big statement to make because he has some huge competition to deal with in the shape of Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting, Javed Miandad, and of course the legendary Don Bradman. But all those names aside, an even bigger statement to make is that could Tendulkar be the greatest cricketer ever. Little known is the fact that he is also an impressive part-time medium pacer who often manages to break partnerships. This little master’s career and personality need to be further looked at.
Sachin Tendulkar started playing cricket in the narrow alleys of Mumbai as a child. He once said that he learnt his masterful straight drive from playing in those narrow alleys where the only place to hit the ball was straight down the alley. He made his debut as a 16-year-old batsman playing in one day internationals and test matches against Pakistan in 1989. At that tender age, he faced the scary pace of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and came out and impressed the selectors of India so much so that his place in the national team was cemented. He next went on a tour of England and played a superb innings followed on by taming the Australians at a very fast wicket at Perth. With these fantastic innings he had firmly shown the world that he was a force to be reckoned with and a call went out to all the bowlers of the world to beware.
Over an impressive 18-year career, Tendulkar has shown the world that he is one of the best batsmen out there. Bowlers fear his batting prowess and to get him out is seen as a huge achievement by any bowler today. He has played in 400 one day international matches and 140 test matches. During these matches, Sachin has scored over 27,000 runs for his country and has 80 centuries. He has a tally of records to his name as well. He has the 4th highest tally of runs in test cricket at an average of 57.25 and has the highest amount of runs and centuries in one day international matches. Moreover, the little master has the most number of runs in World Cup cricket matches, most number of man-of-the-match awards in one day cricket and he was the fastest batsmen along with Brian Lara to score 10,000 runs in test cricket, both of them achieved the feat in 195 innings. He recently recorded another great milestone by playing in his 169th test match, which is an amazing feat in itself if all is other records are not looked at.
There is another aspect of Tendulkar’s game that people often overlook. He is also a competent medium pace bowler who has taken 198 wickets in international cricket, 154 of them were taken in one day international matches. That is a pretty impressive bowling record for a batsman who only bowls part-time. Some of the bowling he has done has been match winning overs such as the time he was asked to bowl by his captain Mohammad Azharuddin in a match against the West Indies in 1991. During his only over of the game and the last ball of that over, Sachin got the last wicket and the match was tied. This fact shows that over the years he has not only shone with his batting but his bowling figures have been very impressive as well.
Tendulkar is one of the biggest celebrities in his home country of India. He is at the same level as Bollywood stars and other entertainers. He is an icon in India and he is loved by almost a billion people in the country. His earnings exceed £5 million a year and he has signed a deal with the newly formed marketing arm of advertising company Saatchi and Saatchi called Iconix. The three year deal is reportedly worth £22 million and has propelled the cricketing superstar into the realm of international sporting greats such as David Beckham and Tiger Woods. That is an unbelievable achievement from someone who hits the ball around for a living. Throughout this journey, Tendulkar has maintained the same humble attitude that he had when he started his career with. For him playing the game he loves is enough, everything that has come along with it is simply extra.
Tendulkar by all his achievements makes a very strong claim to being the greatest cricketer ever. Even though this will be the source of debate for many years to come, people will be hard pressed to find a more genuine, humble and down to earth cricketer than him. The fact that he is one of the greatest batsmen in the world and a pretty good bowler as well, help push him to the top of the list of all time greats who played the game.
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