Happy Birthday Sachin Tendulkar: From Master Blaster's First Car to Sleepwalking, Here Are Some Interesting Facts on God of Cricket's 46th Birthday

One of the best cricketers of all times, Sachin Tendulkar is celebrating his 46th birthday today, i.e. Wednesday. Born on April 24, 1973, Sachin Tendulkar has broken and as well as created a slew of cricketing records in history. Often called as ‘God of Cricket’ by his fans worldwide, there are a lot of achievements Tendulkar has accomplished in his career spanning across decades. Sachin Tendulkar Birthday: Twitterati Line-up to Wish God of Cricket on his 46th Birthday.

A lot has been written about the Master Blaster in the last few decades. A lot more has been said about the Little Master even before he started playing for the Indian national team. A lot of facts, rumours, anecdotes, records, statistics, and quotes are attributed to Sachin Tendulkar over the years. Sachin Tendulkar Birthday Special: 10 Memorable Quotes on the Master Blaster by Legends of the Game.

As G.O.A.T. celebrates his 46th birthday today, we bring you a long list of factual information associated with Sachin Tendulkar. If you belong to the league of ‘If Cricket is a religion, then Sachin is its God’, then it is a certainty that you might know many of these things. Nonetheless, when you reach to the end of the article, you’ll be amused to ending up learning a lot of new things about Tendulkar. Sachin Tendulkar Birthday Wishes & WhatsApp Messages: Send Greetings to Master Blaster on His 46th Birthday With These Sweet Quotes on Facebook and Twitter!.

1. Sachin Tendulkar was named after his father Ramesh Tendulkar’s favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman.

2. Not many know that Sachin Tendulkar was considered as a bully during his schooling years, and used to pick fights with newly admitted students in his school.

3. It was because of his this treacherous habit that his brother, Ajit Tendulkar, introduced Sachin Tendulkar to the world of (formal/professional) cricket in 1984. (The rest, as they say, is history).

4. When Sachin Tendulkar got tired while practising in the nets, coach Ramakant Achrekar used to keep Re 1 coin on the stumps. If the bowler got his wicket, it would be his, or if Sachin remained not-out, the coin would be his. Not many know that Sachin earned 13 such coins back then.

5. In 1987, Sachin Tendulkar went to MRF Pace Foundation in Madras (now Chennai) to become an established fast bowler. However, Dennis Lillee – the then highest Test wicket-taking (355) bowler – wasn’t impressed with him, and asked him to instead focus on his batting skills. (Well, thank you, Dennis).

6. In the same year, Sachin Tendulkar took filed for Pakistan cricket team. In an exhibition match on January 20 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Cricket Club of India (CCI), Tendulkar came on as a substitute for Imran Khan’s side. (Yeah, you read that right). Sachin Tendulkar Birthday Special: See Childhood and Family Pictures of the ‘God of Cricket’ As He Turns 46.

7. It is little known that Sachin Tendulkar served as a ball boy in 1987 Cricket World Cup, during India vs England semi-final match in Bombay.

8. Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian cricketer to have scored centuries in all of his debut matches in domestic first-class tournaments, i.e. Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy, and Duleep Trophy.

9. Sachin Tendulkar is the first overseas-born player to represent Yorkshire County Cricket Club. In 1992, at the time when the county team had never picked any non-English player till then, Tendulkar represented them when he was only 19.

10. Not many know that Sachin Tendulkar once scored an 18-ball 53 run knock in a 20-over exhibition game in Peshawar, Pakistan. Remember his three consecutive sixes against Abdul Qadir? Well, they were hit during this match only.

11. Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest Indian player to make a debut in both Test and One Day Internationals (ODIs). He was 16 years, 205-days old while making debut in Test cricket, while he debuted in Indian ODI side when he was 16 years, 238-days old.

12. Not many know that Sachin Tendulkar used the ultra-light cushioned pads, which were gifted to him by Sunil Gavaskar, in his debut Test match.

13. Sachin Tendulkar’s first car was a red-coloured Maruti 800 (SS80), and he still owns it. Sachin Tendulkar 46th Birthday: 5 Unforgettable Innings by Master Blaster That Make Us Call Him ‘God of Cricket’ With Pride!.

14. Not many know that Sachin Tendulkar is the first player in cricket history to be given out by a TV umpire. The dismissal took place against South Africa, when Jonty Rhodes ran him out in a Test match in 1992.

15. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly’s friendship has been one of best relationships one has seen on-the-field. Not many know that Sachin Tendulkar calls Sourav Ganguly ‘Babu Moshaay’, while the latter calls him ‘Chhota Babu’.

16. Sachin Tendulkar is cross-dominant, a.k.a. ambidextrous; he bats and bowls with his right hand, but he writes with his left hand. Also, in his early days, Tendulkar used to bowl with left arm, rarely.

17. The love for the game was so much that Sachin Tendulkar carried his SSC textbooks along with him when he used to travel during his Bombay Ranji team tours.

18. Sachin Tendulkar had a disastrous captaincy record; however, it is little known that Sachin’s daughter ‘Sara’ is named after his first tournament win, i.e. Sahara Cup in 1997, as a captain.

19. It took Sachin Tendulkar 79 ODI matches to score his first ODI century. (Overnight success, doesn’t really come overnight – does it?).

20. Sachin Tendulkar made a cameo appearance in a Bollywood movie ‘Stumped’ in 2003. The film was produced by Raveena Tandon and directed by Gaurav Pandey.

21. Sachin Tendulkar, an outspoken of the Italian car manufacturer Ferrari, was gifted a Ferrari 360 by the seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher, when he equalled the record of 29 Test centuries by Don Bradman.

22. Do you remember what was the first commercial that featured Sachin Tendulkar? It was Johnson & Johnson’s Band-Aid in 1989!

23. “Sachin Tendulkar used to sleepwalk during his days at MRF Pace Academy,” revealed his former teammate Sourav Ganguly in his book ‘Playing It My Way’.

24. Sachin Tendulkar didn’t watch the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final match after being dismissed, due to superstitions. It was Virender Sehwag and team physio who’re giving him constant updates about the happenings in the field.

25. Sachin Tendulkar won the Man-of-the-Tournament award in ICC World Cup 2003, where he scored 673 runs – a record which still stands. Well, not many know that Tendulkar didn’t face a single ball in the nets throughout the tournament – a fact which was later revealed by former teammate Rahul Dravid.

26. Sachin Tendulkar happens to be India’s first active cricketer to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha, and happens to be the only one.

27. Sachin Tendulkar became the then world’s richest cricketer, when he signed a five-year deal with World Tel worth Rs 31.5 crores, in 1995.

28. Sachin Tendulkar used to play with the heaviest bats prior to his career-threatening tennis-elbow injury. His willow then weighed 1.42 kgs, approximately 3.2 lbs.

29. During his prime in the mid-90s, Sachin Tendulkar went to watch movie Roja in a disguise – a wig, and a beard to be precise. However, things soon fell out of his hands, after the disguise fell and the crowd recognised him.

30. Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to have won Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, and Padma Shri awards by the Indian government.

31. Would you believe if you are told that Sachin Tendulkar’s weakness is the famous Mumbai-snack ‘Vada Pav’? Well, he himself confessed so in an interview to a Marathi news channel.

32. Sachin Tendulkar is a known fan of John McEnroe – a former Tennis legend. The G.O.A.T is known to have sport McEnroe’s hairstyle with a head-band look for quite a long time in his early days.

33. In 1998, he made 1,894 runs in ODI format – a record which still stands for any batsman in a calendar year. Also, the record stands for 9 ODI centuries, which is unbroken still.

34. The nanny who looked after Sachin Tendulkar in his childhood days is popularly known as ‘Sachuchi Bai’.

35. Speaking about his favourite car, Ferrari 360, Sachin Tendulkar’s wife Anjali is not allowed to drive it.

36. Too many points already? Well, we have reserved the best for the last. Despite all the glory, form, and fame in his early days, Sachin Tendulkar didn’t have a contract for his bat until the beginning of ICC Cricket World Cup 1996. We all know what happened next – tyre-manufacturer ‘MRF Tyres’ was assumed as a willow-manufacturer for the next two decades!

Happy Birthday, Sachin Tendulkar! Quotes By Cricketing Legends on Master Blaster

Sachin Tendulkar is not only a man of records, or can be limited to be called as one of the greatest cricketer of all times. Tendulkar is an emotion, a feeling, a role-model, a childhood crush, a nation’s dream, a fighting individual – embodiment of all the elements that makes one of the rare breed of sportsmen in world history!

As Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his 46th birthday today, we wish the former Indian cricketer a very happy and healthy life ahead. Let us know the best memory you have associated with Sachin Tendulkar in the comments section below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2019 10:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).