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Often referred to as “Master Blaster” and “God of Cricket”, Sachin Tendulkar is celebrating his 50th birthday on Monday, April 24. A child prodigy, the Indian cricketer legend made his Test debut at the age of 16 during the tour of Pakistan in 1989 and soon went on to establish himself as the lynchpin of India's batting line-up.
Over the next two decades, he was an inseparable part of the Indian team, with the nation’s cricketing fortunes often rising and falling depending on his performances. Following a stellar international career that lasted nearly 24 years, Tendulkar hung up his boots in 2013, breaking most of the batting records.
He ended his career with 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, scoring 15921 and 18426 runs, respectively. He also featured in a solitary T20I. Apart from his batting exploits, which saw him notch up a record 100 international hundreds, Tendulkar also claimed 46 wickets in Tests, 154 in ODIs, and one in T20Is.
Given his amazing achievements, it is no surprise that Tendulkar’s fan following is humungous. On his 50th birthday, we look at five crazy things fans have done for the Master Blaster over the years.
#1 Cycling to meet Sachin
Sudhir Kumar Gautam is famously referred to as “Tendulkar’s biggest fan”. Before the pandemic, he was spotted at most cricket matches in India, with his body painted in Indian tricolor. Earlier, he used to write "Tendulkar 10" on his chest. Since the Indian cricketer’s retirement, he has changed it to "miss you Tendulkar 10".
Back in 2002, Gautam cycled from Bihar to Jamshedpur to watch Tendulkar play. Unfortunately, the batter was ruled out due to injury. Next, he cycled to Mumbai, traveling around 2400 kilometers, hoping to meet the legend. When Tendulkar heard about the story, he invited Gautam to meet him and started providing him with tickets for matches held in India.
Famously, after India won the ODI World Cup in 2011, Tendulkar invited Gautam into the Indian dressing room and posed with his super fan.
#2 Fan makes 44 ft x 24 ft rangoli of Sachin Tendulkar
On Tendulkar’s 44th birthday in 2017, a resident of Nerul in Navi Mumbai, Abhishek Satam made a 44 ft x 24 ft rangoli of the cricket legend. His colorful tribute landed him in the India Book of Records.
Speaking about the record, Satam was quoted as telling DNA:
“It feels amazing when you follow your passion and it gets appreciated. It gives one inspiration to do more unique work. I wanted to celebrate Tendulkar's birthday by showcasing my creative artwork. The rangoli was sponsored by my friends and school alumni.”
Satam has a huge collection of Tendulkar memorabilia, which includes a 24-karat gold-plated bat with the former cricketer's autograph.
#3 A reverse-driving tribute
Tendulkar played his penultimate Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in November 2013. To pay a unique tribute, Sunit Chakroborty, a fan of his from the Burdwan district, decided that he would drive his car in reverse gear from Durgapur to Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He was quoted as saying by India Today:
"I want too felicitate Tendulkar on his 199th Test century by driving on reverse gear from Durgapur to Eden Garden. The reason is Sachin himself loves to drive on reverse gear. With this I too want to give a message that if I can drive on reverse gear, then a man too can avert accident if he drives carefully.”
It is not known whether Chakroborty completed his entire journey in reverse gear.
#4 The fan who fell at Sachin’s feet
After Tendulkar retired from ODI cricket, he showed his commitment to Mumbai and turned out for them in the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Master Blaster even went on to score a ton.
As he reached his landmark, a spectator from the East Stand ran towards the pitch. The umpire intervened and asked him to leave, but he did not budge as he was keen to meet the Indian legend.
Tendulkar asked him to be patient, but eventually gave in and agreed to shake hands with the fan, only for him to fall on the cricketer’s feet.
#5 When a seven-year-old bowled over Sachin
In August 2020, Maharashtra resident Arun Nivale Patil shared a cute video on Twitter with a painting of Tendulkar made by her seven-year-old daughter Srushti. In the clip, Srushti shared an innocent message for the cricketer and said:
"Hi Sachin sir, I am Srushti, studying in class 7, from Maharashtra. I am a big fan of yours. I made your painting. Please review it.”
A humble Tendulkar responded to the artwork and appreciated the young girl. He tweeted in response to the painting:
"It is such a beautiful painting, Srushti! I'm sure you're getting better each day and will make your parents proud. Thanks for sharing this and my best wishes to all of you."
These are just a few of the innumerable unique tributes fans have paid Tendulkar over the years. The adulation is unlikely to stop!
