As the nation celebrates the 48th birth anniversary of the cricketing genius Sachin Tendulkar, here are 48 interesting facts about the legend, his life, and career.

Young Tendulkar wanted to become a fast bowler but was rejected by legendary Dennis Lillee's MRF Pace Foundation in 1987.

During the 1987 World Cup, Sachin was a ball boy for the match between India and Zimbabwe at the Wankhede Stadium.

He fielded for Pakistan as a substitute during a one-day practice match against India at the Brabourne Stadium in 1988.

During his teens, Tendulkar would win a coin from his mentor Ramakant Achrekar if he could last an entire session of nets without dismissal. Tendulkar is the proud owner of 13 such coins.

Sachin became the richest cricketer in October 1995 after he signed a five-year contract worth Rs 31.5 crore with World Tel.

The Little Master used to sleep with his cricket gear during his junior days.

He has a good collection of perfumes and watches.

Sachin's first car was a Maruti-800.

He was the first international batsman to be given out by a third-umpire in 1992, on the second day of the Durban Test when Jonty Rhodes’ throw caught Tendulkar short of the crease.

At 19, Sachin was the youngest from India to play county cricket.

Tendulkar featured for a sticking plaster in his first advertisement

The first brand which he endorsed was the health drink 'Boost'

In his debut test match, English fast bowler Alan Mullally complained that Tendulkar's bat was broader than a normal willow.

He started off with 100s in his debut matches in the Ranji, Duleep and Irani Trophies.

Ravi Shastri, the present coach of the Indian cricket team, led Tendulkar onto the field on his Ranji debut.

Sachin used to bat with a very heavy bat, weighing 3.2lbs.

Tendulkar, considered one of the calmest persons around, was a big bully in the school.

He went for the movie Roja in 1995 in disguise but it went wrong after the crowd in the cinema hall recognised him.

Tendulkar is the only Indian cricketer and the youngest person to get Bharat Ratna. Other awards include Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Padma Shri.

A young Sachin was sent to cricket coaching class as a punishment.

In his early days, he would go fishing for tadpoles and guppy fishes in the stream that ran through the compound of iconic Sahitya Sahawas at Bandra East.

Sachin's weakness is 'vada-pao', a popular Maharashtrian snack.

He got his 50thtest century while batting with his favourite vampire bat

In his debut Test against Pakistan he wore the pads gifted to him by Sunil Gavaskar.

Tendulkar grew his hair and tied a band around it to copy John McEnroe, a former tennis star of whom, he was a big fan.

Sachin still holds the record of scoring most centuries in a calendar year: 9 ODI centuries in 1998.

In 1998, he got 1,894 ODI runs, a record for ODI runs by any batsman in a calendar year.

Tennis stars Pete Sampras and Boris Becker, and Argentina footballer Diego Maradona are among many legendary sports personalities who admire Tendulkar.

Sachin was named after the great musician Sachin Dev Burman as his father was a big fan of SD's music.

He loves listening to Kishore Kumar and rock group Dire Straits.

Sachin calls Sourav Ganguly 'Babu Moshai' while Ganguly calls him 'Chhota Babu'.

He once made his mother look for a frog bhaji recipe.

The nanny who took care of young Sachin was universally called Sachuchi Bai.

Tendulkar was very possessive about his Ferrari even not letting his wife Anjali to drive it.

He loved to play tennis ball cricket and darts during rain breaks.

Tendulkar, the prankster, once put a hose pipe into Sourav Ganguly's room and turned the tap on during their early days of cricket in domestic circuits.

Sachin 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.

In 1992, he was the youngest of the lot to reach a 1000 runs in Test cricket.

Tendulkar has been the India's only active cricketer to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

Sachin has played under the following captains in ODIs: Srikkanth, Shastri, Jadeja, Azharuddin, Kumble, Ganguly, Dravid, Dhoni and Sehwag

Tendulkar has dismissed Pakistani batsmen Inzamam-ul-Haq once in Tests and seven times in ODIs.

He was 10 years old in 1983 when India won its first ODI world cup

In 2002, Wisden ranked him the second best player ever, after Sir Donald Bradman.

Sachin got out for 0 while playing his first match against Pakistan on 12 Dec 1989.

Tendulkar’s 50-over career lasted for a staggering 22 years and 91 days.

He scored 2,278 runs across six World Cups, doing so at an astonishing average of 56.95.

Sachin played a staggering 200 Test matches during his cricket career; no other player has played more than 168 (Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting)

(Edited by : Jomy)

First Published:Apr 24, 2021 5:37 PM IST