The Little Master: Best batsmen of his generation

Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the greatest modern batsmen. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and One Day International cricket. He was the first player to score a double century in ODI cricket.

In 2002, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one day international (ODI) batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards. In 2007, the Australian leg spinner Shane Warne rated Tendulkar as the greatest player he has played with or against. Tendulkar was the only player of the current generation to be included in Bradman's Eleven.

Most Test Runs

Tendulkar holds the record for the highest aggregate with 15,921 Test runs which were achieved in 200 Tests (another record) at an average of 53.78 and included a record 51 centuries. Those 51 test tons were accompanied by 49 in ODIs to make Tendulkar the only player in history with a century of centuries in international cricket, as well as the only man to make more than 30,000 international runs across all formats of the game.

The complete modern batsman?

In the modern age of intense video scrutiny, no batsman's weaknesses remain hidden for long. Sachin Tendulkar has bucked a trend to arguably be the most complete batsman of his time. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses: anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient at each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.

There are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, can tune his technique to suit every condition, temper his game to suit every situation, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year-old on a lightning-fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman: Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.

Teenage prodigy

Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. His greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, in 2008 he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer, and in the years after, he went past 13,000 Test runs and 30,000 international runs.

Hundred hundreds record

He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match. Incredibly, he retains a divine enthusiasm for the game, and he seems to be untouched by age: at 36 years and 306 days he broke a 40-year-old barrier by scoring the first double-century in one-day cricket. His 100 international hundreds records, which like Bradman's batting average, is a mark that will likely last for ever.

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred in each innings as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.

Tendulkar was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award in 2013, the youngest person ever and the first sportsperson.

In retirement, Tendulkar remains loosely connected with the game appearing in the masters competition that he co-authored and is also an MP in India's lower house.

Source: CricketCrowd Staff Reporter