Sachin Tendulkar is a very known ex cricket player from India who became known as one of the biggest batsmen ever. He has interesting nicknames: God of Cricket, Blaster and Little Master.
Early years
He was born as Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar on April 24, 1973 in Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. His father Ramesh was a novelist writing in Marathi language (spoken by people in Maharashtra). His mother was named Rajni and she worked in an insurance company as a clerk.
He was a student at Sharadashram Vidyamandir High School and he always had good grades. His father had great hopes for his education but life led him to anorher part of work.
Sachin has three siblings and all of them are his half-siblings from his father’s first marriage. They are Nitin and Ajit and a sister Savita. His older brother Ajit had a very important role in his career since he was the one who got him interested in cricket. Both of them played for Sahitya’s cricket team.
One of most popular coaches in Mumbai, Ramakant Acherkar, saw him play cricket and was impressed with his game. He convinced him to continue his schooling in a Dadar English High School because they have had the best cricket team then. Achrekar took him under his wing and coached him in mornings and evenings, before and after school.
He relocated and moved in with his cousins, aunt and uncle to be closer to Shiraji Park where he trained every day.
Due to his great games, he soon became the main topic of cricketing circles which were convinced that he has a great career in front of him and that he was going to be one of the best Indian cricketers ever. And they turned to be true.
Career development
He played both for the Matunga Gujarati School Team and for John Bright Cricket Club in the Kanga League.
Later on, he started playing for Cricket Club of India where they recognized his talent.
In 1987 he became a ball boy in the Cricket World Cup, in the semifinals against England.
His good friend and teammate were Vinod Kambli, and the two of them became one of the best high-school duos in India.
In 1987 he represented Bombay in India’s premier cricket tournament called „Ranji Trophy.“
In 1988, he debuted against Gujarat and showed excellency in the match.
He was picked twice for the Star Cricket Club, in 1988 and 1989.
He was only 19 when he was chosen to play again for Yorkshire where he played 16 matches…
He was the youngest player in India to debut in Tests (Test Championship) for the Indian team. He was only 16 years old, and it led him to tour in New Zealand where he was dismissed soon. In 1990, on his summer tour to England, he also made a great appearance.
In 1991/92 tour in Australia he showed off his talent, and everybody saw that he would become a great batsman.
From 1994-1999 he was at his peak, and it was especially shown at 1996 World Cup.
In 1994, he was proud to become a winner for an Outstanding Sporting Achievement. It was the Arjuna award.
During those years he scored a great game, but in 1999 his father Ramesh died during the World Cup, and he missed a few matches. After he returned he dedicated them all to his father.
In 1996 he became the team captain, but the team went down with the performance. People spoke that he was too soft as a captain and that he lost touch with the real world after becoming so popular.
In 1997 he received the highest sporting award in India: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
In 2001, he was charged that he tampered with the cricket ball so he was suspended by a match referee. Since the referee banned four more Indian players. During the same game, the newspapers accused the referee of racism.
In 2008 he broke Brian Lara’s record of the most number of Test runs. He broke several records during his career.
He is extremely popular, and his fans have a saying: „Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God,“ all because of his consistently excellent performance and scored centuries. He is especially popular in Australia. Australia is known as the motherland of cricket.
He retired in 2013 and is now oriented only at his business. Of course, he knows everything that’s happening in cricket.
“The Bharat Ratna’ is a very well known Indian award wich is one of the highest honor in Indias, and he was the youngest ever to receive that award. He didn’t know where to put all of his trophies he received in his career.
He received big amounts from his endorsements contract: with WorldTel (a telecommunications company), Saatchi and Saatchi company, Pepsi, Adidas, Fiat and more. His Coca-Cola contract was one of the highest in all India. It was worth over $1, 2 million.
He is an owner of two restaurants in Mumbai: „Tendulkar’s“ and „Sachin’s.“ They are named after him, and they are popular to come to.
He is a co-owner of an Indian Football Team called „Kochi ISL“ and a badminton team „Bengaluru Blasters.“ He is a big fan of all sports, so he decided to stay active as the grey eminence.
During his career, he was led by World Sports Group Agency under the sharp eye of his manager Vinod Naidu.
Personal life
In 2003 he had a small role in a Bollywood film Stumped, where he played himself.
He was so popular that he couldn’t go out to the cinema not being occupied by his fans. Which waa sometimes really difficult for him.
In 2010 he opened his Twitter account, and in just a few weeks he gained hundreds of thousands of followers in his country, but also worldwide.
He met his wife Anjali Mehta (she was born in 1967) in 1990. She is a highly educated woman, a pediatrician and a daughter of an industrialist, Ashok Mehta. Her mother is from Britain, and she was the one to force her husband to school again.
They dated for four years until they finally decided it was time to become a family. They have two children: a son Arjun and a daughter Sara. They are adults now.
Sachin fell in love with Anjali very soon, and he liked the fact that knew nothing about cricket when she first met him. Anjali didn’t even know that Sachin is a celebrity.
Sachin’s religion is Hinduism, and he was a great admirer of Guru Sai Baba. After Sai Baba’s death, he was very sad, and he moved away from his family to meditate and read Sai Baba’s books.
He is known for his love of meditation which calms him down. A lot of Buddhists believe that his daily meditation helped him to be great at sports.
He is a great philanthropist too, and every year he sponsors 200 children from underprivileged families. He helps them to finish studies and educate themselves. He also donates a lot to students.
He raised funds for „Crusade against Cancer.“ It was another noble cause which he started and which still works though.
He published his autobiography called „Playing It My Way“ in 2014. It was the critically well-received book.
A lot of books about him were published too: „The Story of the World’s Greatest Batsman,“ „Masterful,“ „ The A to Z of Sachin Tendulkar,“ and more.
In 2017, a biographical film called „Sachin: A Billion Dreams“ was released and he played himself in the movie. The movie was directed by James Erskine who wrote the script.
There is one interesting fact about the movie: his son Arjun played the role of his father as a young batsman.
Quick summary
Full name: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Date of birth: April 24, 1973
Birthplace: Mumbai, Maharasthra, India
Age: 45
Profession: former cricket player, businessman
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 62 kgs
Net Worth: $150 million