Labelled as the ‘God of Cricket’, Sachin Tendulkar will celebrate his 47th birthday today (April 24, 2020). In a career spanning over two decades, The master blaster brought smiles on faces of many cricket fans all around the world and was an inspiration to millions. One of the greatest batsmen of all time, the Mumbai cricketer smashed almost every record in the book and with a total of 100 tons in his bag, has cemented his place in the folklore of cricketing history. Sachin Tendulkar Birthday Special: From 98 vs Pakistan to 241 vs Australia, Top Six Knocks by the Master Blaster That Redefined Cricket.

From making his debut as a 16-year-old against arch-rivals Pakistan to becoming the highest run-scorer of all time in international cricket, Sachin Tendulkar has had a career which in unrivalled to anyone in the sport. Despite being one of the superstars in the game, the cricketing stalwart is known for his modest behaviour. So on the occasion of the Indian legends 47th birthday, we take a look at some of the interesting facts about him. Sachin Tendulkar Birthday: Master Blaster Will Not Celebrate 47th Birthday As Mark of Respect to COVID-19 Warriors.

Interesting Facts About Sachin Tendulkar

  • Sachin Tendulkar was born at Nirmal Nursing Home in Dadar, Bombay.

  • Sachin Tendulkar’s Father Ramesh Tendulkar was a well-known Marathi novelist and poet while his mother worked in the insurance industry.

  • Sachin Tendulkar’s father named him after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman.

  • Sachin Tendulkar has three elder siblings, two half-brothers Nitin and Ajit and one half-sister Savita.

  • Sachin Tendulkar is a tennis fan with American John Patrick McEnroe being his idol.

  • Sachin was introduced to Cricket by his elder brother Ajit.

  • Sachin trained under Ramakant Achrekar at Shivaji Park in Dadar, who used to offer him a coin for every time he wasn’t dismissed.

  • Sachin Tendulkar has kept 13 of those coins and considers them as his most prized possessions.

  • Known for his modest personality, Sachin was considered as a bully during his school days.

  • At the age of 14, Sachin attended MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai to train as a pace bowler.

  • But Australian pacer Dennis Lillee was unimpressed and told him to focus on batting instead.

  • Sachin once played as a substitute fielder for Pakistan during an exhibition game at the Brabourne stadium.

  • At the age of 14, Sachin served as a ball boy in India vs New Zealand semi-final clash at 1987 World Cup.

  • Sachin was once involved in a 664-run partnership with friend Vinod Kambli during the Lord Harris Shield inter-school tournament.

  • At age 15, Sachin made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bombay against Gujarat and scored a century

  • Sachin made his international debut against Pakistan in Karachi as a 16-year-old and scored 15 runs in that game.

  • Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest debutant for India in Tests and ODIs.

  • Sachin couldn’t celebrate his maiden Test century in Manchester because he was underage.

  • Sachin Tendulkar scored his first ODI century in his 79th match.

  • In 1995, Sachin became the richest cricketer in the world when he signed a deal worth Rs 31.5 crore with Tel.

  • Sachin Tendulkar was the first batsman to be given out by the third umpire as he was ran-out by Jonty Rhodes in first-ever TV decision.

  • At 19, Sachin became the youngest Indian cricketer to play County Cricket.

  • When Sachin equalled Sir Don Bradman’s record of 29 Test centuries, he was gifted a Ferrari by F1 driver Michael Schumacher.

  • In a career of over two decades, Sachin has been stumped only once and it was by Ashley Gile of England in 2002.

  • Sachin Tendulkar once lent his bat to Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi who went on to score the fastest ODI century at that time.

  • Sachin is the only cricketer to score a combined 100 centuries in Test and ODI cricket.

  • He achieved this feat against Bangladesh at Mirpur on March 16, 2012, which was coincidently his first ODI ton against them.

  • Sachin Tendulkar was the first cricketer to score a double century in ODI cricket.

  • Surprisingly Sachin Tendulkar has never scored a century against Zimbabwe.

  • He is the first-ever Indian cricketer to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

  • In 2002, Sachin was named as the second-best Test batsmen of all time behind Sir Don Bradman by Wisden.

  • Sachin has represented India in a total of six World Cups.

  • But lifted the trophy for the first time in 2011, on his final attempt.

  • In 2012, Sachin was named an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia.

  • Sachin Tendulkar made his debut on TV with the Johnson & Johnson Band-Aid ad in 1989.

  • Tendulkar is the only cricketer to get Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan awards.

  • On the day of his final game on November 16, 2013, the Prime Minister's Office announced the decision to award him the Bharat Ratna.

  • He was the first person without an aviation background to be awarded the honorary rank of group captain by the Indian Air Force.

  • Sachin met his wife Anjali when team India returned from the tour of England, he was 17 at that time.

  • On May 24, 1995, Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali Mehta and the couple have a daughter Sara and son Arjun.

  • In 2010, Sachin became the first cricketer to complete 10,000 ODI runs.

  • Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of highest runs scored in Tests and ODIs.

  • In 2012, Time magazine as one of the most influential people in the world.

  • Sachin has played in 200 Test matches, the highest by any cricketer.

  • In 2013, he was the only cricketer named in Wisden’s all-time Test XI to mark its 150th anniversary.

  • Sachin Tendulkar retired from all forms of cricket on November 16, 2013.

  • In 2019, Sachin was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2020 07:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).