SACHIN TENDULKAR - the name itself strikes terror in the hearts of all bowlers . Hailed as next to none other than Sir Donald Bradman , this man has all the shots in the book, and a few more ! There is probably nothing this wizard cannot do - opens the batting for India in the one-dayers, bats in the middle order in tests , bowls right arm off breaks, leg breaks and even googlies (the wrong-un). He also swings the ball both ways when he bowls his medium pacers. A child prodigy, he made his international debut in ODIs and Tests at the tender age of sixteen against Pakistan and in his first series itself , he had to face the brunt of the fiery pace of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis . The Pak series was not very good for him but don't all the great players start shakily ? He then went to England as a part of the national side, and has not looked back ever since. In batting, he has reached a pivot that others can sit back and only dream of. He has demolished practically every bowling attack in the world - from Shane Warne to Saqlain Mushtaq , and Waqar Younis to Allan Donald all in style . Tendulkar 'specials' include the straight drive ( nobody plays the shot better than him in world cricket today ), the elegant cover drive, the fierce square cut, the pull over mid wicket and square leg, the delicate leg glance, the late late cut, the lofted shots over mid-on and mid-off and not to mention the improvisations he keeps coming up with time and again . Any doubts .....Go ask Warne and co ! He plays each of his shots amazingly well and has even employed the reverse sweep to good effect. A short but immensely powerful man, some of his shots are hit with arrogance as if he was trying to dismiss the ball from his presence. On the other hand, some of his shots are simply timed and placed well. His timing can be quite exquisite and it is this blend of timing and power that puts him in a league of his own . At the age of 25, he is the most experienced player in the Indian team after Mohammad Azharuddin, with whom he shares a very good rapport. Always involved in the game, he never hesitates to approach the captain or to the bowlers.
His selfless attitude and devotion to cricket coupled with the lack any ego makes him one of the most accessible and likable personalities on the cricket field. No wonder he commands a huge fan following all over the world. He is a great thinker of the game and a good strategist too. It was his great cricketing mind that saw him being appointed as the captain of the Indian side in 1996-97 making him the second youngest captain in the history of Indian cricket (the youngest being M.A.K. Pataudi who was appointed captain at the age of 21). He initially justified the faith put in him by leading India to series victories against Australia (Border - Gavaskar Trophy), South Africa (at home) and also lifted the TITAN cup (Triangular tournament featuring India, Australia & South Africa). But after that, the performances dropped. He was not given the squad that he wanted and India started losing under an unhappy captain. As usual, the skipper was made the scape-goat and citing his lack of form (!!! he had scored more than a thousand runs in both ODIs and Tests in 1997 - a record) was removed from captaincy. Since then, he has flourished with both the bat and the ball, and is thus back to his true self and the job he loves the most - winning matches for India. With age on his side, this man is set out to be the highest run getter in the history of world cricket. He has already scored the maximum number of ODI centuries and won rich praises from people and fellow/former cricketers who see in him a living legend and a master batsman who is leagues above his fellow cricketers.
