The man may be having his birthday today but the legend never ages. With anecdotes from his life that are as rich as the runs he scored in his career, it is rightly so. Here are 21 incredible facts about Sachin Tendulkar, the master-blaster.
1. He was named after Sachin Dev Burman, the erstwhile India musician. Sachin’s father was a huge fan of his music.
2. Back in school, he used to be a big-time bully-quite distinct from the ‘calm’ aura that was his during his professional career.
3. In his junior days, he used to sleep with his cricket gear.
4. Sachin was rejected by MRF Pace Foundation in 1987 when he was an aspiring fast bowler.
5. Sachin used to win a coin from his coach in his early days whenever he could bat through an entire session in the nets without getting dismissed. The master-blaster has 13 such coins.
6. In the 1987 World Cup, Tendulkar-then 14, was a ball boy for the India-Zimbabwe match at the Wankhade Stadium.
7. Sachin’s idol was the tennis legend, John McEnroe. Copying him, Sachin grew his hair which he tied up using a band.
8. The pads that he wore in his début test match against Pakistan were gifts from Sunil Gavaskar.
9. The first car that he owned was a Maruti-800.
10. Sachin became the youngest cricketer to reach 1000 runs in test cricket in 1992.
11. The first ever brand that Tendulkar endorsed was ‘Boost.’
12. Sachin was gifted a Magnum champagne bottle champagne when he scored his first Test hundred at Manchester in 1990. But since British rules didn’t allow those under 18 to consume it, he waited 8 years and popped it open on his daughter Sara’s first birthday.
13. Andrew Symonds autographed a T-shirt once for Sachin- “To Sachin, the man we all want to be.”
14. In 1995 Sachin Tendulkar, already popular, went in disguise to watch the movie, ‘Roja’. But then his glasses fell off and the crowd at the cinema hall recognized him.
15. Zimbabwe is the only Test-playing country where Sachin hasn’t scored a Test century.
16. He revealed in a television interview that his greatest weakness is vada-pao.
17. Sachin is a fan of both Kishore Kumar and Dire Straits.
18. As a prank, Sachin once put a hose into Sourav Ganguly’s room and then turned the tap on.
19. He has a passion for collecting watches and perfumes.
20. Sachin’s passion for his Ferrari is quite well know. His possessiveness is so intense that even his wife, Anjali, is not allowed to drive it.
21. He is the first Indian active cricketer to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
These incredible facts about Sachin Tendulkar shed light on a life that was far from the ordinary. Lives such as his are surely a rarity and we at Grabhouse wish him a birthday to remember.