Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar born 24 April 1973) is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker inTest and One Day International cricket. He is the only player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket In 2002, just 12 years into his career Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one day international (ODI) batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards In September 2007, the Australian leg spinner Shane Warne rated Tendulkar as the greatest player he has played with or against. Tendulkar was the only player of the current generation to be included in Bradman's Eleven. He is sometimes referred to as Little Master or Master Blaster.

Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	169	442	270	529
Runs scored	13,837	17,594	22,432	21,150
Batting average	56.02	45.12	59.03	45.87
100s/50s	48/56	46/93	74/101	57/111
Top score	248*	200*	248*	200*
Balls bowled	3,994	8,020	7,359	10,196
Wickets	44	154	69	201
Bowling average	52.25	44.26	60.73	42.01
5 wickets ininnings	0	2	0	2
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	0	n/a
Best bowling	3/10	5/32	3/10	5/32
Catches/stumpings	106/–	132/–	173/–	169/–

Tendulkar's two tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. When Tendulkar took over as Captain in 1996, it was with huge hopes and expectations. However, by 1997 the team was performing poorly. Azharuddin was credited with saying "Nahin jeetega! Chote ki naseeb main jeet nahin hai!", which translates into: "He won't win! It's not in the small one's destiny!"

Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, then led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3–0 by the newly crowned world champions. Tendulkar, however, was at his usual best and won the player of the tournament award as well as player of the match in one of the games. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0–2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.

Tendulkar remains an integral part of the Indian team's strategic processes. He is often seen in discussion with the captain, at times actively involved in building strategies. Former captain Rahul Dravid publicly acknowledged that Tendulkar had been suggesting moves such as the promotion of Irfan Pathan up the batting order which, although only temporary, had an immediate effect on the team's fortunes. In 2007, Tendulkar was appointed vice-captain to captain Rahul Dravid. During the Indian team's 2007 tour of England, Dravid's desire to resign from the captaincy became known. The BCCI President Sharad Pawar personally offered the captaincy to Tendulkar. However, Tendulkar asked Pawar not to appoint him captain, instead recommending Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take-over the reigns. Pawar later revealed this conversation, crediting Tendulkar for first forwarding Dhoni's name, who since achieved much success as captain