When Sachin released his autobiography in 2014 'Playing It My Way', I was reluctant to read it. My logic was, 'Is there anything I don't know about him !!'. (I must confess here that though I consider Sachin to be a great player, I admire Dravid more than him.)
But when I read his book, I found it had many anecdotes and stories which I was not aware of. Here is a compilation of anecdotes and interesting facts from his life.
No Helmet
Sachin Tendulkar did not have many luxuries when he was growing up. This is what he said in 2004 while talking about a practice match at the Wankhede Stadium before his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai in 1988: "It was a fresh, green wicket and Raju Kulkarni (India pacer) must have thought I was being too smart by not wearing a helmet. I was wearing my Mumbai under-15 cap. Raju started bowling bouncers, which I ducked. Till today, he probably doesn't know that I did not wear a helmet because I did not have one."
Virat's Test Debut alongside Sachin Tendulkar
This was the day when Virat Kohli made his test debut and got the chance to play alongside Sachin Tendulkar.
This young, angry, brash boy was very nervous meeting him in the dressing room but was awestruck with the simplicity of cricketing legend.
Before coming to the ground for the session, it was told to Virat Kohli that every newcomer in the team touches the feet of Sachin Tendulkar to offer him respect and take his blessings.
It was a usual day for Sachin where he was checking up with his bat and other equipments and Virat was taking occasional glances at him, very nervous and silent, quite opposite to his character.
Within a minute or so, Sachin understood this young boy's nervousness and struck up a casual conversation with him. Virat, thinking about the ritual he was told by his teammates went up to him and touched his feet within no time.
Sachin was flabbergasted to see that, suddenly somebody bowing down and touching your feet came as a surprise to him.
As soon as Virat did that, whole team burst into loud laughter and a shy Virat took some time to realize that it was a prank.
2011 World Cup
After India won the ICC World Cup 2011, every one was celebrating in its own way however weather in dressing room was surprisingly different than normal day.
This was what was happening in the dressing room (shared by Sachin himself in his book) -
Once we got back to the room, I remember the whole hotel was celebrating. There were champagne flowing everywhere. Anjali (his wife) was with me and both of us went to my room and we started dancing because it was a massive moment in my life, something which I waited for 22 years. On another floor, one room was booked for us and that is where Harbhajan, Yuvraj and Virat Kohli sang “Tujh mein rab dikhta hai” for me and I was embarrassed. I said ‘what are you guys doing’. They said ‘Bhai aaj gaane do, aaj mauka hai gaane ka, hum teeno ko ye gaana hai tumhare liye’ (Brother! Let us sing today because it is a joyous moment. We three want to sing for you). They sang and it was a special moment for me. Nobody knows about it. This moment is something that I cannot forget in my life.
This will never happen again
This match was at Hyderabad in October 2007, India vs Australia. Brad Hogg, Australian leg spinner bowler bowled Sachin. Hogg was elated. At the end of the match Hogg asked Sachin to sign the ball. Sachin wrote
"This will never happen again".
After this match Sachin played Hogg for 13 innings. Hogg ended his International cricket career in 2008 & in this span of time he could never take Sachin's wicket again!!
Sathya Sai Baba
Sachin Tendulkar is an ardent follower of Sathya Sai Baba. It is believed that he always carried a photo of the spiritual guru in his sports kit. The TV channels had gone wild when Sachin paid a visit to Puttaparthi and shed tears on the day the spiritual guru passed away.
Here's a compilation of some interesting facts related to Sachin's life and career-
~Like lots of other cricketers, Sachin is pretty superstitious – he’ll always put on his left pad before his right whenever he’s getting padded up.
~“He hasn't spent Diwali at home since we got married. But it really doesn’t matter that it’s Diwali, any time he spends at home is great!” – Anjali, his better half has said. Once in a BBC interview when asked about his dream women, Sachin answered ‘my wife’ without batting an eyelid.
~When Sachin scored the historic 664-run stand with Kambli, he was wearing wet trouser as it had not dried after washing due to monsoon weather and he did not have a spare one.
~ He sang and whistled with Vinod Kambli during their 664 run stand in Harris shield in 1988 to avoid eye contact with coach's assistant, who wanted to declare while the duo wanted to bat on.
~ Teammate Praveen Amre bought him his first pair of international quality cricket shoes.
~Colony watchman's son Ramesh Pardhe who was his playmate, said Sachin would ask him to dip a rubber ball in water and hurl it at him. He wanted to see the wet marks left on his bat to find out whether he middle the ball correctly.
~Refused to shoot for a soft drink ad of him smashing cricket balls with a fly swatter. He reportedly told film-maker Prahlad Kakkar, "that would make me greater than the game." The ad was modified: he hit the balls with a stump.
~"Sachin has promised me that he would provide me with the tickets of all international matches played in our country, and he is living up to his words“ said Sachin's biggest fan, Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary. Sachin provides tickets of all international matches in India to him! Yes, the guy you notice in every Indian game, the one painted in tricolor.
~Sachin Tendulkar uses a very heavy bat at the crease, weighing 3.2lbs. Only South Africa's Lance Klusener used a heavier bat in world cricket.
~Fascinated by pace and speed, Tendulkar hopes to drive a Formula One car someday.
~Sachin Tendulkar is ambidextrous. He bats with his right hand but signs autographs, eats or plays table tennis with his left.
~Sachin Tendulkar wanted to be a professional Tennis player.
~Sachin was a ball boy during the 1987 World Cup semi-final match between India and England at Wankhede.
~Sachin Tendulkar wanted to become a fast bowler, but was rejected by Dennis Lillee's MRF Pace Foundation in 1987. Lillee advised the young Tendulkar to focus on his batting, while the other youngster turned away by Lillee along with Tendulkar was none other than Sourav Ganguly.
~Sachin Tendulkar went to watch the movie Roja in 1995 with a beard and disguise. It all went wrong when his glasses fell off and the crowd in the cinema hall recognised him.
~Sachin Tendulkar was the first batsman to be given out by the third-umpire. In 1992, on the second day of the Durban Test, a Jonty Rhodes throw caught Tendulkar short of the crease. After watching TV replays he was adjudged out.
~When young Sachin fell from a tree on a Sunday evening during his summer vacation, while watching the movie 'Guide' on Doordarshan, his infuriated brother (and mentor) Ajit sent him to cricket coaching class as punishment.
~The first advertisement in which Sachin featured was for a sticking plaster.
~Sachin Tendulkar used to sleep with his cricket gear during his junior days.
~Sachin Tendulkar loves collecting perfumes and watches.
~As a kid, Sachin Tendulkar used to go fishing for tadpoles and guppy fishes in the stream that ran through the compound of Sahitya Sahwas at Bandra East
~Sachin Tendulkar was a huge fan of John McEnroe. He grew his hair and tied a band around it to copy his idol. Sachin was also fondly called McEnroe by his friends.
~Sachin Tendulkar admires Pete Sampras, Boris Becker and Diego Maradona.
~Sachin loves Kishore Kumar and rock group Dire Straits.
~Sachin calls Ganguly 'Babu Mashai' while Sourav calls him 'Chhota Babu'.
~Sachin once made his mother look for a frog bhaji recipe!
~Sachin is so possessive about his Ferrari that wife Anjali is not allowed to drive it.
~Sachin loved to play tennis ball cricket and darts during rainbreaks.
~A prankster that he is, Sachin once put a hose pipe into Saurav Ganguly's room and turned the tap on. Ganguly awoke to find his gear floating!
~Sachin Tendulkar fielded for Pakistan as a substitute during a one-day practice match against India at the Brabourne Stadium in 1988.
~Sachin Tendulkar was without a bat contract until the start of the 1996 Cricket World Cup. At the end of the tournament a famous tyre manufacturer sponsored his willow.
~Sachin Tendulkar has the most number of stadium appearances - 90 different venues.
~Tendulkar batted in his debut Test against Pakistan wearing the pads gifted to him by Sunil Gavaskar.
~Dec 14, 1989 - On the last day of the last Test of his first Test series, in Sialkot, gets hit on the nose by Waqar Younis - also in his first series. He got up, and wiped away the blood, medical assistance was declined and he eventually scored 57.
~Mar 27, 1994 - Opens in an ODI for the first time - against New Zealand. Goes on to make 82 off 49 balls.
~Oct 1995 - Signs a five-year contract worth Rs 31.5 crore with WorldTel, which makes him the richest cricketer in the world.
~Tendulkar has 13 coins from his coach Ramakant Achrekar. He would win a coin if he could get through an entire session of nets without being dismissed.
~India's GDP has grown by 453% since Sachin faced the first ball against Pakistan in Karachi 23 years back.
~41 crore new Indians have been born during Sachin's long career, taking the country's population to 126 crore, a whopping 48% increase.
~We were struggling as a nation when he made his debut in 1989. Our foreign reserves were at 5.83 billion dollars, Now it is 280 billion dollars (increased 48 times).
~During his career Sensex moved from 1050 to 18600.
~Sachin was the 74th Indian to wear the ODI cap. Now we have 275, added 200 during his career. More than 70% of new additions have already retired.
~At World Cups he has been more prolific than anywhere else, his total tally at WCs (2278 Runs) is 30.6% greater than his closest and arch rival Ricky Ponting (1743 runs). And if you think he has played more, he has played 1 match less than Ponting in WCs. He has also hit 6 centuries and 21 Half tons.
But when I read his book, I found it had many anecdotes and stories which I was not aware of. Here is a compilation of anecdotes and interesting facts from his life.
No Helmet
Sachin Tendulkar did not have many luxuries when he was growing up. This is what he said in 2004 while talking about a practice match at the Wankhede Stadium before his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai in 1988: "It was a fresh, green wicket and Raju Kulkarni (India pacer) must have thought I was being too smart by not wearing a helmet. I was wearing my Mumbai under-15 cap. Raju started bowling bouncers, which I ducked. Till today, he probably doesn't know that I did not wear a helmet because I did not have one."
Virat's Test Debut alongside Sachin Tendulkar
This was the day when Virat Kohli made his test debut and got the chance to play alongside Sachin Tendulkar.
This young, angry, brash boy was very nervous meeting him in the dressing room but was awestruck with the simplicity of cricketing legend.
Before coming to the ground for the session, it was told to Virat Kohli that every newcomer in the team touches the feet of Sachin Tendulkar to offer him respect and take his blessings.
It was a usual day for Sachin where he was checking up with his bat and other equipments and Virat was taking occasional glances at him, very nervous and silent, quite opposite to his character.
Within a minute or so, Sachin understood this young boy's nervousness and struck up a casual conversation with him. Virat, thinking about the ritual he was told by his teammates went up to him and touched his feet within no time.
Sachin was flabbergasted to see that, suddenly somebody bowing down and touching your feet came as a surprise to him.
As soon as Virat did that, whole team burst into loud laughter and a shy Virat took some time to realize that it was a prank.
2011 World Cup
After India won the ICC World Cup 2011, every one was celebrating in its own way however weather in dressing room was surprisingly different than normal day.
This was what was happening in the dressing room (shared by Sachin himself in his book) -
Once we got back to the room, I remember the whole hotel was celebrating. There were champagne flowing everywhere. Anjali (his wife) was with me and both of us went to my room and we started dancing because it was a massive moment in my life, something which I waited for 22 years. On another floor, one room was booked for us and that is where Harbhajan, Yuvraj and Virat Kohli sang “Tujh mein rab dikhta hai” for me and I was embarrassed. I said ‘what are you guys doing’. They said ‘Bhai aaj gaane do, aaj mauka hai gaane ka, hum teeno ko ye gaana hai tumhare liye’ (Brother! Let us sing today because it is a joyous moment. We three want to sing for you). They sang and it was a special moment for me. Nobody knows about it. This moment is something that I cannot forget in my life.
This will never happen again
This match was at Hyderabad in October 2007, India vs Australia. Brad Hogg, Australian leg spinner bowler bowled Sachin. Hogg was elated. At the end of the match Hogg asked Sachin to sign the ball. Sachin wrote
"This will never happen again".
After this match Sachin played Hogg for 13 innings. Hogg ended his International cricket career in 2008 & in this span of time he could never take Sachin's wicket again!!
Sathya Sai Baba
Sachin Tendulkar is an ardent follower of Sathya Sai Baba. It is believed that he always carried a photo of the spiritual guru in his sports kit. The TV channels had gone wild when Sachin paid a visit to Puttaparthi and shed tears on the day the spiritual guru passed away.
Here's a compilation of some interesting facts related to Sachin's life and career-
~Like lots of other cricketers, Sachin is pretty superstitious – he’ll always put on his left pad before his right whenever he’s getting padded up.
~“He hasn't spent Diwali at home since we got married. But it really doesn’t matter that it’s Diwali, any time he spends at home is great!” – Anjali, his better half has said. Once in a BBC interview when asked about his dream women, Sachin answered ‘my wife’ without batting an eyelid.
~When Sachin scored the historic 664-run stand with Kambli, he was wearing wet trouser as it had not dried after washing due to monsoon weather and he did not have a spare one.
~ He sang and whistled with Vinod Kambli during their 664 run stand in Harris shield in 1988 to avoid eye contact with coach's assistant, who wanted to declare while the duo wanted to bat on.
~ Teammate Praveen Amre bought him his first pair of international quality cricket shoes.
~Colony watchman's son Ramesh Pardhe who was his playmate, said Sachin would ask him to dip a rubber ball in water and hurl it at him. He wanted to see the wet marks left on his bat to find out whether he middle the ball correctly.
~Refused to shoot for a soft drink ad of him smashing cricket balls with a fly swatter. He reportedly told film-maker Prahlad Kakkar, "that would make me greater than the game." The ad was modified: he hit the balls with a stump.
~"Sachin has promised me that he would provide me with the tickets of all international matches played in our country, and he is living up to his words“ said Sachin's biggest fan, Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary. Sachin provides tickets of all international matches in India to him! Yes, the guy you notice in every Indian game, the one painted in tricolor.
~Sachin Tendulkar uses a very heavy bat at the crease, weighing 3.2lbs. Only South Africa's Lance Klusener used a heavier bat in world cricket.
~Fascinated by pace and speed, Tendulkar hopes to drive a Formula One car someday.
~Sachin Tendulkar is ambidextrous. He bats with his right hand but signs autographs, eats or plays table tennis with his left.
~Sachin Tendulkar wanted to be a professional Tennis player.
~Sachin was a ball boy during the 1987 World Cup semi-final match between India and England at Wankhede.
~Sachin Tendulkar wanted to become a fast bowler, but was rejected by Dennis Lillee's MRF Pace Foundation in 1987. Lillee advised the young Tendulkar to focus on his batting, while the other youngster turned away by Lillee along with Tendulkar was none other than Sourav Ganguly.
~Sachin Tendulkar went to watch the movie Roja in 1995 with a beard and disguise. It all went wrong when his glasses fell off and the crowd in the cinema hall recognised him.
~Sachin Tendulkar was the first batsman to be given out by the third-umpire. In 1992, on the second day of the Durban Test, a Jonty Rhodes throw caught Tendulkar short of the crease. After watching TV replays he was adjudged out.
~When young Sachin fell from a tree on a Sunday evening during his summer vacation, while watching the movie 'Guide' on Doordarshan, his infuriated brother (and mentor) Ajit sent him to cricket coaching class as punishment.
~The first advertisement in which Sachin featured was for a sticking plaster.
~Sachin Tendulkar used to sleep with his cricket gear during his junior days.
~Sachin Tendulkar loves collecting perfumes and watches.
~As a kid, Sachin Tendulkar used to go fishing for tadpoles and guppy fishes in the stream that ran through the compound of Sahitya Sahwas at Bandra East
~Sachin Tendulkar was a huge fan of John McEnroe. He grew his hair and tied a band around it to copy his idol. Sachin was also fondly called McEnroe by his friends.
~Sachin Tendulkar admires Pete Sampras, Boris Becker and Diego Maradona.
~Sachin loves Kishore Kumar and rock group Dire Straits.
~Sachin calls Ganguly 'Babu Mashai' while Sourav calls him 'Chhota Babu'.
~Sachin once made his mother look for a frog bhaji recipe!
~Sachin is so possessive about his Ferrari that wife Anjali is not allowed to drive it.
~Sachin loved to play tennis ball cricket and darts during rainbreaks.
~A prankster that he is, Sachin once put a hose pipe into Saurav Ganguly's room and turned the tap on. Ganguly awoke to find his gear floating!
~Sachin Tendulkar fielded for Pakistan as a substitute during a one-day practice match against India at the Brabourne Stadium in 1988.
~Sachin Tendulkar was without a bat contract until the start of the 1996 Cricket World Cup. At the end of the tournament a famous tyre manufacturer sponsored his willow.
~Sachin Tendulkar has the most number of stadium appearances - 90 different venues.
~Tendulkar batted in his debut Test against Pakistan wearing the pads gifted to him by Sunil Gavaskar.
~Dec 14, 1989 - On the last day of the last Test of his first Test series, in Sialkot, gets hit on the nose by Waqar Younis - also in his first series. He got up, and wiped away the blood, medical assistance was declined and he eventually scored 57.
~Mar 27, 1994 - Opens in an ODI for the first time - against New Zealand. Goes on to make 82 off 49 balls.
~Oct 1995 - Signs a five-year contract worth Rs 31.5 crore with WorldTel, which makes him the richest cricketer in the world.
~Tendulkar has 13 coins from his coach Ramakant Achrekar. He would win a coin if he could get through an entire session of nets without being dismissed.
~India's GDP has grown by 453% since Sachin faced the first ball against Pakistan in Karachi 23 years back.
~41 crore new Indians have been born during Sachin's long career, taking the country's population to 126 crore, a whopping 48% increase.
~We were struggling as a nation when he made his debut in 1989. Our foreign reserves were at 5.83 billion dollars, Now it is 280 billion dollars (increased 48 times).
~During his career Sensex moved from 1050 to 18600.
~Sachin was the 74th Indian to wear the ODI cap. Now we have 275, added 200 during his career. More than 70% of new additions have already retired.
~At World Cups he has been more prolific than anywhere else, his total tally at WCs (2278 Runs) is 30.6% greater than his closest and arch rival Ricky Ponting (1743 runs). And if you think he has played more, he has played 1 match less than Ponting in WCs. He has also hit 6 centuries and 21 Half tons.
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