50 Fun Facts About Sachin Tendulkar

Which fiery tennis star did young Tendulkar imitate with long hair and a headband?

John McEnroe was his hero at a time when all his friends backed the ice-cool Björn Borg; young Sachin grew his hair, tied on a headband and carried a racquet around to look the part.

Tendulkar's father named him Sachin after which favourite music director?

S. D. Burman's first name was Sachin: Tendulkar's father, a Marathi poet and novelist, loved the composer's film music enough to hand the name on to his youngest child.

Which older brother introduced young Sachin to cricket in 1984, partly to curb his bullying?

Ajit spotted the talent, took the 11-year-old to a proper coach and gave up his own cricket to guide his brother's, a sacrifice Tendulkar thanked him for in his farewell speech.

Who was Tendulkar's childhood coach at Shivaji Park in Dadar?

Ramakant Achrekar would ferry him across the city on his scooter so the boy could bat in a couple of practice matches a day, yet in 29 years he never once told his pupil 'well played'.

What did his coach place on top of the stumps to motivate a tired young Tendulkar in the nets?

A one-rupee coin went to any bowler who got him out, but if he survived the whole session he kept it, and he still counts the coins he won among his most prized possessions.

Which Australian fast bowler told the 14-year-old Tendulkar in 1987 to forget bowling and focus on batting?

Dennis Lillee was coaching at the MRF Pace Foundation in Madras, where the boy had turned up hoping to become a fast bowler; unimpressed, Lillee sent him back to his batting.

Which former Indian batsman gave the young Tendulkar a pair of his own lightweight pads?

Sunil Gavaskar also wrote to the 14-year-old when he missed out on a best junior cricketer award, pointing out that the list of past winners had one name missing and that man had not done badly.

With which schoolmate did Tendulkar share a record unbroken stand of over 600 runs in a 1988 Harris Shield match?

Vinod Kambli made 349 not out in the stand of 664, which ended only when their coach forced the pair to declare; he then took six wickets.

In 1992 Tendulkar became the first batsman in international cricket to be given out by what?

A third umpire's TV replay ran him out at Durban in November 1992: Jonty Rhodes threw in, the square-leg umpire asked upstairs, and Karl Liebenberg ruled him short of his ground.

Which Ranji Trophy captain picked a 15-year-old Tendulkar after watching him face Kapil Dev in the nets?

Dilip Vengsarkar had India's Test bowlers, Kapil Dev among them, try the boy out in the nets, then went to the selection meeting that same evening and insisted he be picked.

Which veteran Pakistani leg-spinner did 16-year-old Tendulkar hit for four sixes in one over of a 1989 exhibition match?

Abdul Qadir had dared the boy to try hitting him after a younger spinner was taken apart, then watched four sixes fly in a 20-over exhibition put on at Peshawar to please the crowd.

Which Pakistani bowler, also making his Test debut, dismissed Tendulkar for 15 in his first Test innings in 1989?

Waqar Younis bowled him, then later in the series hit him on the nose with a bouncer at Sialkot; the bleeding 16-year-old refused to go off, said 'main khelega' (I will play) and made 57.

Where did Tendulkar score his maiden Test century, 119 not out, in August 1990?

Old Trafford, Manchester is where the 17-year-old batted through the final day for an unbeaten 119, his first international hundred, to save a Test that India had looked like losing.

On which Australian ground, famed for its fast and bouncy pitch, did 18-year-old Tendulkar make a celebrated 114 in 1992?

The WACA, Perth was as quick and bouncy as pitches came, and his 114 there led Australian fast bowler Merv Hughes to tell his own captain the teenager would end up with more runs than him.

In 1992 Tendulkar became the first overseas player to play for which English county?

Yorkshire had long kept a born-in-the-county selection policy, so a 19-year-old from India was a small revolution, and he got the job only because Australian Craig McDermott pulled out injured.

Tendulkar first opened the batting in an ODI in 1994 because which regular opener woke with a stiff neck?

Navjot Singh Sidhu's stiff neck let Tendulkar, by his own account, plead with his captain and manager for one chance at the top in Auckland; he hit 82 off 49 balls and the opener's job was his.

Tendulkar retired with a then-record 49 one-day hundreds, but in which ODI did his first finally arrive?

His 79th one-day international, against Australia in Colombo in 1994, finally brought the hundred, almost five years after his debut and only months after he had moved up to open.

After Tendulkar fell for 65, which team were awarded the riot-hit 1996 World Cup semi-final?

Sri Lanka were awarded the match by referee Clive Lloyd: Tendulkar's stumping began a slide from 98 for 1 to 120 for 8, and the Eden Gardens crowd threw bottles and set fire to the stands.

Tendulkar's 143 against Australia in Sharjah in 1998 is known by what nickname?

Desert Storm was named for the real sandstorm that halted play and stiffened India's target; they lost, but his 143 still carried them into the final, where he made another hundred on his 25th birthday.

Which spinner joked in 1998 that he was having nightmares about Tendulkar after being dominated in India?

Shane Warne ran into a batsman who had prepared for him by scuffing up rough outside leg stump in the nets and having former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan bowl into it.

What job did a 14-year-old Tendulkar do at the 1987 World Cup semi-final on his home ground?

A ball boy at the Wankhede as India lost that 1987 semi-final, he came back to the same ground 24 years later and won the World Cup final on it.

Against which team did Tendulkar score a century at the 1999 World Cup days after returning from his father's funeral?

Kenya faced him at Bristol days after his father's funeral: India had lost to Zimbabwe without him, so he flew back to England and made 140 not out off 101 balls.

Who took over as India captain when Tendulkar resigned in 2000?

Sourav Ganguly got the job when Tendulkar stood down after a 0-2 home series defeat; the chief selector of the day recalls him saying he wanted to concentrate on his batting.

When BCCI's Sharad Pawar offered him the captaincy again in 2007, whom did Tendulkar recommend?

Mahendra Singh Dhoni had impressed him from the slip cordon, where Tendulkar kept asking the young wicketkeeper what he would do next and liked the calm answers, so he declined and named him.

What did Fiat give Tendulkar to mark his 29th Test century, equalling Bradman, in 2002?

A Ferrari 360 Modena set off a row at home when the government waived more than a crore rupees of import duty on it; after a court challenge, Fiat paid the bill itself.

Where did Tendulkar score 193 in August 2002, his 30th Test century, taking him past Bradman's tally of 29?

Headingley, Leeds offered a green pitch under cloud, the classic English seamers' morning, yet India chose to bat and his 193 helped them to 628 for 8 and an innings victory.

Which fast bowler did Tendulkar slash over third man for six at the 2003 World Cup?

Shoaib Akhtar, then the fastest bowler in the world, dropped short and wide in his first over and was slashed over third man for six; Tendulkar went on to 98 off 75 balls and India won.

In his 241 not out at Sydney in 2004, which shot did Tendulkar refuse to play for ten hours?

The cover drive had kept getting him out that series, so, by his own account, he decided out in the middle to give it up: 613 minutes and 33 fours followed without a single one.

Which injury kept Tendulkar out of cricket for months in 2004 and led to surgery in 2005?

Tennis elbow needed surgery in 2005, after which, he later said, he could not even lift his young son's plastic bat and feared he would never play again.

Which Indian Super League football club did Tendulkar co-own from its launch in 2014?

Kerala Blasters took their name from 'Master Blaster', as fans had long called him; he said so himself when the Kochi club's name was announced before the league's first season in 2014.

Whose record for most Test runs did Tendulkar break in October 2008 during Australia's tour of India?

Brian Lara's mark of 11,953 fell to a dab for three at Mohali; fireworks went off around the ground and play stopped while the Australian fielders walked over to shake his hand.

Against which team did Tendulkar score the first men's ODI double century, in February 2010?

South Africa's fielders saw him get there with a single in the final over at Gwalior, after he had crept through the 190s while his big-hitting partner blazed away at the other end.

After the 2011 World Cup final, which young teammate said Tendulkar had 'carried the burden'?

Virat Kohli said it after helping to hoist him onto the team's shoulders for a lap of honour at his home ground, adding: 'It is time we carried him on our shoulders.'

Against which team did Tendulkar finally score his 100th international century in March 2012, after a wait of over a year?

Bangladesh then spoiled the party by chasing down India's total to win by five wickets at Mirpur; the hundred had taken him a year and four days since his 99th.

How many Test matches had Tendulkar played when he retired from all cricket in November 2013?

200 Tests is a mark no other cricketer has reached; when the last one ended he walked back out to the pitch at his home ground and touched it in a private farewell.

In 2025 a Test trophy was renamed after Tendulkar and which bowler?

James Anderson shares the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which replaced the Pataudi Trophy; Tendulkar then pressed both boards to keep the old name alive, and a Pataudi Medal now goes to the winning captain.

Tendulkar's emotional farewell Test in November 2013 was played against which touring team?

West Indies were the visitors, and he had asked the board to stage the match in his home city so that his mother, who had never once watched him play at a ground, could finally see him bat.

Which honour did the Prime Minister's Office announce for Tendulkar right after his final match in 2013?

Bharat Ratna rules covered only art, literature, science and public service until they were widened two years earlier to 'any field of human endeavour', making him its first sportsperson and, at 40, its youngest recipient.

Between 2012 and 2018 Tendulkar served as a nominated member of which body?

The Rajya Sabha seat came by presidential nomination; criticised for poor attendance, he ended his six-year term by donating his entire salary, about 90 lakh rupees, to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.

Which bowler had a ducking Tendulkar given out lbw off his shoulder in 1999?

Glenn McGrath's bouncer kept low and hit the ducking batsman on the shoulder; the man who raised the finger says he is still proud of the call, and the bowler jokes it should have been SBW, shoulder before wicket.

Which award did Tendulkar receive as ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2010?

The same year Time magazine put him on its list of the world's most influential people.

Which IPL franchise did Tendulkar captain as icon player from the league's first season in 2008?

Mumbai Indians never had to bid for him: as one of five 'icon players' he was assigned to his home-city franchise and guaranteed 15% more than its costliest auction signing.

Which jersey number did his IPL franchise retire in Tendulkar's honour?

10 was informally shelved by India too, though never officially retired: when a debutant fast bowler wore it in a 2017 one-day international, fans abused him so fiercely that the number dropped out of use.

What was famously unusual about the bat used by the diminutive Tendulkar for most of his career?

It was very heavy because as a boy he shared his elder brother's full-size bat; by his own account he held it right at the bottom of the handle to control the weight, and the habit stuck.

What is the profession of Anjali Mehta, whom Tendulkar married on 24 May 1995?

Paediatrician Anjali, as the couple told it at his book launch, first came to his family home posing as a journalist, a cover story the nervous young batsman had invented; she gave up medicine soon after they married.

Tendulkar's unwanted international record is for being dismissed most often in which range of scores?

The nineties proved nervous even for the man with 100 hundreds: no batsman has been out there more often in international cricket, and in 2007 alone he fell three times on 99.

What is the title of Tendulkar's autobiography?

Playing It My Way made headlines with its claim that coach Greg Chappell came to his home before the 2007 World Cup and offered to help him take the captaincy from Rahul Dravid, which Chappell denies.

Which team did Tendulkar's IPL side beat in the 2013 final, moments before he announced his retirement from the league?

Chennai Super Kings lost by 23 runs to give his side its first title in six seasons; sidelined by injury, he said in a television interview moments later that this had been his last IPL.

Which Australian star challenged a retired Tendulkar to face one over from her at a 2020 bushfire charity match?

Ellyse Perry issued the dare on social media; he came out of retirement against his doctor's advice, nursing a shoulder injury, and glanced her very first ball to the boundary.

Tendulkar took his 100th ODI wicket by dismissing which Australian captain at Goa in 2001?

Steve Waugh had traded words with the usually placid Tendulkar earlier in his innings; trying to slog the part-time spinner, he holed out at long-on and became his 100th one-day victim.