Sachin Tendulkar, often known as the “God of Cricket,” is a name that reverberates with greatness in the sporting world. His journey from a talented young boy in Mumbai to cricketing icon has inspired millions worldwide. Let’s look into the legendary path that earned him this divine title.
Some people are born great and don’t have to work hard; others have to work hard and find greatness. The other group is the one who are blessed with fate and are great in a surprising way.
But there is one other category that is born great but nurtures their prodigious talent and by dint of sheer hard work, enhances their greatness to the extent of becoming the greatest of them all. Then, they even surpass that and become demigods.
The list of cricketing legends also includes Sachin Tendulkar, who was born with talent in abundance. His hard work and sheer application of his talent and sweat earned him the sobriquet ‘God of Cricket’.
On April 24, the day that will mark his 50th birthday, the world will again look towards him as the living God of Cricket. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar earned his greatness by setting up innumerable records across all forms of cricket. He has set a benchmark that would be bettered only by somebody more gifted, hardworking and luckier than him.
The world witnessed the initial glimpse of this genius in 1988 when he and Vinod Kambli put together an uninterrupted partnership of 664 runs for Sharadashram Vidyamandir School in a Harris Shield inter-school match against St. Xavier’s High School. Young Sachin hit 325 not out in that match.
So what has made Sachin Tendulkar the God of Cricket? It is not evident who first coined the word “God of Cricket” to describe him, but the term stuck to him like the skin on his short frame when other cricketers, such as Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, and Virat Kohli, referred to him by that sobriquet many times.
The sheer number of runs, records, and achievements is simply unparalleled — he is the only cricketer to have notched more than 30,000 runs at the highest level of the game.
With an international career spanning 24 years, Tendulkar has scored 34,357 runs for India across all formats. He is the highest run-getter in Test match cricket, with 15,921 runs in Tests and records for most Test centuries at 51 and most Test matches at 200. He scored the most fours in the format at 2058 and is the fastest cricketer to reach 15,000 Test runs.
A pioneer in the shorter version of the game, the former India captain has played the most ODIs (463), scored the most ODI runs (18,426) and has the most centuries in ODI cricket history (49).
He is the first cricketer to score a double century in ODI cricket — scoring 200 not out against South Africa in an ODI at Gwalior on February 24, 2010. One of the few cricketers to play in six World Cups, he won the most prestigious title in ODI cricket in 2011 at his home ground of Wankhede Stadium.
In 2010, Sachin Tendulkar was declared by Wisden as the greatest cricketer of all time and was awarded the title of Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2002—at 29; he became the youngest recipient ever and the fifth Indian recipient. In September 2007, he was nominated by the ICC as one of five cricketers for induction into the ICC Hall of Fame 2008.
In 2012, cricket fans voted Tendulkar one of their favourite twenty-four players over the past fifty years, along with Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, and Shane Warne. The Indian government honoured him with the Arjuna Award, the Khel Ratna Award, the Padma Vibhushan, and the Bharat Ratna, making him the first sportsperson to receive the highest civilian award conferred by the Indian government.
There are several reasons why Tendulkar is given the sobriquet of the God of Cricket.
He is the most successful batsman in the history of cricket, having scored more runs and centuries than any other batsman in Tests and ODIs. He has also set numerous records and been accorded all available awards the game has to offer.
But beyond all these runs, records, and achievements on the field, what makes Tendulkar a legend is his sheer perseverance in the face of career-threatening injuries, periods of loss of form, tragedies like the death of his father during the 1999 World Cup in England, bouts of depression due to failure in the 2007 World Cup and question marks over his unsuccessful captaincy. Many people question his status as the greatest cricketer ever because he failed to lead India to victories in the World Cup and for failing to score for India when needed most.
Despite all this, Tendulkar has inspired many generations of Indian cricketers and is still someone young players look up to. He has never been known to lose his cool in the field and always let his bat do the talking. Tendulkar has not been involved in any on-field or off-field scandals. He has been through some controversies but has always tried to be a model sportsperson throughout his career and has been quite successful
His most significant achievement is that he was the biggest hope for billions of Indians during his playing time and is still an inspiration to many because of his philanthropic work.
Tendulkar has always been a role model for youngsters and has always maintained a high level of integrity both on and off the field. It is someone who inspires others with their performances and attitude toward the game.
His overall persona makes him the greatest cricket player of all time and, for many people, the God of Cricket.
FAQS
Ans – The “Master Blaster,” Sachin Tendulkar is known as “god of cricket”.
