Birthday Special: Best quotes on Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar!
One man. A billion dreams. The legend. The icon. When he batted, an entire nation came to a standstill. 24 years, one constant emotion – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. He lives in our hearts, he’s part of our lives. He’s family.
For his fans, 24th April is not just Sachin’s birthday. It’s ‘International God Day’. And it’s not just his fans who have relentlessly stood by their hero. Sachin’s remarkable career evoked a plethora of emotions around the world – from teammates and opponents to experts and commentators.
Here are some of the best quotes from some of the best in the business:
When West Indies legend Brian Lara toured India in 2010, he admitted to having watched Sachin’s batting tapes for inspiration. He also said that if he had a son, he would have loved to see him bat like Sachin.
During Australia’s tour of India in 2001, Aussie batsman Matthew Hayden was stunned to see the kind of admiration and respect Sachin commanded from his fans in the stadium. It was then that he spoke about Sachin’s ‘godly’ status in India.
The world-famous Time Magazine featured Sachin on the cover page of their edition in the year 2011. Celebrating his remarkable career, the magazine summarised in one quote how Sachin belonged to an entirely different category.
The 1998 ‘Desert Storm’ in Sharjah had hit Australia like a speeding bus. With back-to-back knocks of 143 and 134 in the semi-final and final, Sachin had demolished the Australian bowlers and their morale. Such was the greatness of his hundreds that even then Australian captain Mark Taylor couldn’t help but admire him. Commenting on Sachin’s explosive batting, Taylor had remarked how they didn’t lose to India but to Sachin!
When Tendulkar retired from one-day cricket in 2012, a flurry of tributes poured in for the Master Blaster. One of them was from South African batsman Hashim Amla. Congratulating Sachin for his decorated ODI career, Amla said that if they were ever on a plane with Sachin, nothing bad would happen to them.
Legendary Pakistani swing bowler Waqar Younis made his Test debut in the same match that Sachin made his international debut in 1989. Having watched Sachin right from his early days, Waqar knew exactly what Sachin was capable of. It’s what prompted him to say how Sachin made batting look so easy.
Any cricketer who has been around for a long time can easily tell how Sachin belonged to a different category of batsmen. Zimbabwe’s most successful batsman Andy Flower made it absolutely clear during the 2003 World Cup with his excellent quote.
Undoubtedly the world’s greatest batsman, Sir Donald Bradman spotted stark resemblances of his own batting while watching Sachin bat in the 1996 World Cup. Two years later, an excited Sachin met the Don on his 90th birthday, giving cricket fans all over the world a picture of a lifetime.
He may not have been a professional cricketer, but cricket commentator and analyst Harsha Bhogle sure knows how to put something so magnanimous in the simplest words. This quote echoes sentiments of all those who grew up in the ‘Sachin era’.
