Sachin Tendulkar Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography, Records & More

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar [1]
Nickname	Tendya [2]
Names Earned	Master Blaster, God of Cricket, Little Master
Profession	Cricketer
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters– 165 cm in meters– 1.65 m in feet inches– 5’ 5”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Cricket
International Debut	ODI- 18 December 1989 against Pakistan at Gujranwala Test- 15 November 1989 against Pakistan at Karachi T20 – 1 December 2006 against South Africa in Johannesburg
Last Match	ODI- On 18 March 2012 against Pakistan at Dhaka Test- November 14-16, 2013 against West Indies at Mumbai T20 – 1 December 2006 against South Africa at Johannesburg (it was his only T20I)
International Retirement	• He announced his retirement from One Day Internationals on 23 December 2012. • On 10 October 2013, Tendulkar announced that he would retire from all formats of cricket after the two-Test series against West Indies in November.
Jersey Number	#10 (India) #10 (IPL, Mumbai Indians)
Domestic/State Team(s)	• Mumbai • Mumbai Indians • Yorkshire
Coach/Mentor	Ramakant Achrekar
Nature on field	Cool
Favourite Shot	Straight Drive [3]
Records (main ones)	• He made 1,894 ODI runs in 1998, which is a record for most ODI runs by any batsman in a calendar year. • Most number of Test runs – 15,921 • Most number of ODI runs – 18,426 • Most number of Tests played – 200 • Most number of ODIs played – 463 • First batsman to score a double hundred in ODIs • Only batsman to have scored 100 international centuries • Most number of Test centuries – 51 • Most number of ODI tons – 49 • Most ODI half centuries – 96 • Most number of runs (2,278) in World Cup history • Most World Cup appearances (6 editions) • Most fifties in Tests – 68 • Fastest to 10,000 runs in Tests (195 innings – along with Brian Lara (WI) and Kumar Sangakkara (SL)) • Most runs in a single edition of World Cup (673 runs in 2003) • Most ODI hundreds in a calendar year (9 in 1998) • Only one to accomplish rare ODI triple: 15000 runs (18426), 100 wickets (154), and 100 catches (140) • Most times to score 1000 runs in a calendar year: 7 times • Most Fours: 2016 • Most runs in World Cups: 2278 runs at an average of 56.95 in 45 matches • Most centuries in World Cups: 6 in 44 innings • Most Man of the Match titles in World Cups: 9 • Highest number of Man of the Match titles in ODIs: 62 • Most Man of the Match titles in all formats: 76 • Most Man of the Series titles in all formats: 20 • Only player to score a century on debut in all three of his domestic first-class tournaments – the Ranji, Irani, and Duleep Trophies [4]
Awards, Honours, Achievements	National Honours 1994: Arjuna Award, by the Government of India 1997-98: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports 1999: Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award 2001: Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra State’s highest Civilian Award 2008: Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award 2014: Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award Other Honours 1997: Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2003: Player of the Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup 2010: The Indian Air Force made him an Honorary Group Captain 2011: BCCI Cricketer of the Year award 2012: Honorary Life Membership of Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) 2013: Indian Postal Service released a stamp of Tendulkar; making him the second Indian after Mother Teresa to have such stamp released in their lifetime 2019: Inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame alongside South African pace legend Allan Donald and two-time World Cup-winning Australian woman cricketer Cathryn Fitzpatrick. 2020: In February, Tendulkar’s World Cup winning moment won Laureus Sporting Moment award. After India’s World Cup triumph at home in 2011; the moment Sachin Tendulkar being lifted on the shoulders of his teammates was voted the Laureus best sporting moment in the last 20 years. Sachin is the first Indian sportsperson to win a Laureus World Sports Award; the award is dubbed as the ‘Oscars of Sport.’ After getting the award, Tendulkar tweeted, “Thank you all for the overwhelming love and support! I dedicate this @LaureusSport award to India, all my teammates, fans and well wishers in India and across the world who have always supported Indian cricket.” Note: Tendulkar has many more awards and accolades to his name.
Career Turning Point	In 1989; his first Test fifty in his 2nd Test match against a tough bowling attack of Pakistan in Faisalabad
Personal Life
Date of Birth	24 April 1973 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2022)	49 Years
Birthplace	Nirmal Nursing Home in Dadar, Bombay (Now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India
Zodiac sign	Taurus
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
School	• Indian Education Society’s New English School in Bandra (East), Mumbai • Shardashram Vidyamandir School, Dadar, Mumbai
College/University	Did Not Attend
Educational Qualification	High School
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin [5]
Address	19-A, Perry Cross Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai
Hobbies	Collecting Perfume, Watches & CD’s, Listening to Music
Controversies	• Ball-tampering accusation: In 2001, he was suspended for one Test match by referee Mike Denness for not informing umpires that he was cleaning the seam of the ball during the Port Elizabeth Test against South Africa. Later, ICC found Tendulkar not guilty of tampering. ICC spokesperson Mark Harrison said that Tendulkar was cleaning the ball without the umpire’s permission rather than ball tampering. He said, “It’s still an offence but it’s not as serious as ball tampering.” [6] • Critisims for low attendance in parliament: During his term as the Rajya Sabha Member, he was often criticized for being absent in the Parliament sittings and not raising any questions in the house. [7] • Name appeared in Pandora Papers leak: Sachin Tendulkar’s name appeared in the Pandora Papers leak on 3 October 2021, which was exposed by a worldwide journalistic partnership, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). It claimed to have uncovered the financial details of many celebrities in 91 countries, including India. The ICIJ reported that secret documents linked offshore assets to many celebrities including cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, pop music diva Shakira, supermodel Claudia Schiffer, and an Italian mobster called “Lell the Fat One.” The attorney for Tendulkar, however, claimed that Tendulkar had already informed the authorities about his investments. [8] • Casino used his morphed images for promotion: On 24 February 2022, Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to say that he would initiate legal action against a casino that used his morphed image for promotion. Reportedly, a Goa-based casino named ‘Big Daddy’ had used his morphed image for its promotion on social media. [9]
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Anjali Tendulkar (Pediatrician)
Marriage Date	24 May 1995
Family
Wife/Spouse	Anjali Tendulkar (Pediatrician)
Children	Daughter– Sara Tendulkar Son– Arjun Tendulkar (Cricketer)
Parents	Father– Late Ramesh Tendulkar (Novelist) Mother– Rajni Tendulkar (Worked as an Insurance Agent)
Siblings	Brothers– Nitin Tendulkar (Elder, Half-Brother), Ajit Tendulkar (Elder, Half-Brother) Sisters– Savita Tendulkar (Elder, Half-Sister) Note: Images in the Parents’ Section
Favourites
Cricketer(s)	Batsmen : Sunil Gavaskar, Sir Vivian Richards Bowlers : Wasim Akram, Anil Kumble, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Curtly Ambrose
Cricket Ground(s)	Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) & Wankhede Stadium Mumbai
Food	Bombay Duck, Prawn Curry, Crab masala, Keema Paratha, Lassi, Chingri Prawns, Mutton Biryani, Mutton Curry, Baigan Bharta, Sushi
Street Gola	Ice Gola
Actor(s)	Sylvester Stallone, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Nana Patekar
Actress	Madhuri Dixit
Film(s)	Bollywood: Sholay Hollywood: Coming To America
Musician(s)	Sachin Dev Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Dire Straits
Singer(s)	Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar
Song	“Yaad Aa Raha Hai Tera Pyar” by Bappi Lahiri
Colour	Blue
Perfume	Comme des Garcons
Restaurant(s)	• Bukhara Maurya Sheraton in Delhi • The Harbour Bay in Mumbai
Hotel	Park Royal Darling, Sydney
Destination(s)	New Zealand, Mussorie
Sport(s)	Lawn Tennis, Formula 1, Golf
Tennis Player(s)	John McEnroe & Roger Federer
Style Quotient
Car(s) Collection	Nissan GT-R, BMW “30 Jahre M5” Limited Edition, BMW X5 M, BMW X5 M50d, BMW 760Li, BMW i8
Money Factor
Income (as in 2018)	Rs. 80 crore/annum [10]
Net Worth (approx.)	$160 million (Rs. 1100 crore) (as in 2018)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sachin Tendulkar

• He was born to a well-known Marathi novelist, Ramesh Tendulkar, at Nirmal Nursing Home in Dadar, Bombay.
  

  Ramesh Tendulkar Playing With The Baby Sachin Tendulkar

• His mother, Rajni, worked for an Insurance Company.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Lying in The Lap of His Parents

• He was named after the famous Indian Music Director, Sachin Dev Burman.

• Sachin has 3 elder siblings (2 half-brothers Nitin and Ajit & a half-sister Savita). They were from his father’s first wife, who died.

• His formative years were spent in the “Sahitya Sahawas Cooperative Housing Society” in Bandra (East).
  

  Sahitya Sahawas Cooperative Housing Society

• The young Sachin was considered a bully in his neighbourhood.

• He developed an interest in Lawn Tennis and started idolizing John McEnroe.
  

  Sachin Playing Lawn Tennis

• It was Sachin’s elder brother, Ajit, who recognized his cricketing ability and introduced him to Cricket in 1984. He brought Sachin to Ramakant Achrekar at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Bombay (now in Mumbai).

• After being impressed with Sachin, Achrekar advised him to shift his schooling to Sharadashram Vidyamandir (English) High School in Dadar. Sachin moved to his aunt’s home in Dadar, as it was nearer to the school.
  

  Sharadashram Vidyamandir (English) High School in Dadar

• He started practicing hard at the Shivaji Park, and during the net practice, Achrekar used to put a coin on the middle stump and offer the bowlers that he would give that coin to the bowler who would get the wicket of Sachin. He was so much into cricket that even after returning to home from the ground, he used to practice different cricketing tricks.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar practicing at his home

• At Sharadashram Vidyamandir, he scored 329 out of a world-record stand of 664 along with Vinod Kambli.

• Soon, he became a case of the child prodigy at his school.

• He became a good friend of Vinod Kambli at Sharadashram Vidyamandir.
  

  Sachin and Kambli

• His sister, Savita, had gifted to Sachin his first bat in his life.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar With His Bat

• He initially wanted to become a fast bowler, however; when he went to the MRF Pace Foundation, Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee advised him to focus on his batting instead.

• During the 1987 World Cup, 14-year-old Sachin Tendulkar was picked as a ball boy for the matches played in Mumbai. [11] In an interview, he recalled this and said,My first ‘live’ piece of World Cup action was during the 1987 edition, which was co-hosted by India and Pakistan. I was fortunate to be among the volunteers to be picked as a ball boy for the matches played in Mumbai. As I stood there watching the Indian greats on the field, I kept telling myself that I needed to be a part of the action in the middle.”
  

  14-year-old Sachin Tendulkar as a ball boy during the 1987 Cricket World Cup

• At the age of 17, he met his wife Anjali for the first time at the Mumbai airport and got married to her 5 years later. The couple went on to become parents to Arjun and Sara.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar With Arjun And Sara

• In an interview, his wife, Anjali, revealed that she went to Tendulkar’s house for the first time disguised as a journalist.

• Like any other person from a middle-class family, Tendulkar also had to hold down a job in order to make ends meet; he worked at an apparel manufacturer. [12]

• In 1990, Tendulkar did his first ad for Band-Aid. Two years later in 1992, he was endorsing Pepsi and was on his way to becoming cricket’s first millionaire.

• He is the co-owner of the Kochi ISL team in the Indian Super League Football League in India with PVP Ventures owned by Prasad V Potluri.
  

• He made 15 runs in his Test Debut and zero (Duck) in his ODI Debut, both Vs Pakistan.

• When Sachin played for Pakistan– Although everyone knows that Sachin made his international debut in 1989 against Pakistan; however, very few would know that his first taste of international cricket was two years earlier, not playing for India but for Pakistan. In 1987, during a festival match between India and Pakistan at Mumbai’s Brabourne stadium, when Javed Miandad and Abdul Qadir left the field at lunchtime, Sachin was asked to field. Imran Khan placed him at long-on, and soon, Kapil Dev hit the ball in the air in Sachin’s direction; Sachin tried but could not reach the ball. [13]

• His first ODI century came after 79 matches when he made 110 against Australia in the third match of the Singer World Series at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo in September 1994; after five years of his debut in 1989. He made his first Test century on 14 August 1990 against England at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar playing a shot in the inning of his first test hundred

• In an interview, he described his glorious unbeaten 233 of the first innings of the match against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium amongst his best. [14] He said,I think it is one of the most important innings I have played in my life.”

• Sachin Tendulkar is considered to be the only player who has faced the most number of greatest and toughest bowlers of all time including, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Curtly Ambrose, and Shaun Pollock among others.
  

• In the ten-year period between 1993 and 2002, Sachin Tendulkar’s Test average of 62.30 was the best by a distance.

• When talking about his test stats, against no team did he average less than 42- the lowest averages were against Pakistan (42.28) and South Africa (42.46).

• Sachin’s lowest test average, quite surprisingly, was in Zimbabwe- 40 in seven innings; it was also the only country where he didn’t score a Test century.

• He averaged more than 50 in Australia and England, 49.52 in New Zealand, and 46.44 in South Africa, countries where subcontinent batsmen have often struggled.

• Of the 329 innings he played in his Test career, 275 were at the No. 4 position. For the first 22 innings of his Test career, Sachin batted at number 6 or 7, but the change happened after he scored 148* against Australia in Sydney in 1992. In the second innings of the second Test, in Adelaide, Sachin moved up to No. 4- above Vengsarkar and Azharuddin. He scored only 17 in that innings but the next game was in Perth, and Tendulkar’s mesmerizing 114- in only his second innings at No. 4- settled matters. Matthew Hayden once said-I have seen God. He bats for India at no. 4 in tests.”
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Playing At Number 4

• After appearing in six ICC Cricket World Cup tournaments (from 1992 to 2011) in which he made two appearances in the finals (2003 and 2011), he finally realised his long-awaited desire to lift the ICC World Cup trophy, after India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 2 April 2011. Soon after the conclusion of the final match of the 2011 ICC World Cup, all his teammates lifted him on their shoulders to cheer on the glorious victory of India. While describing the event, Virat Kohli said,He has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years; it’s time we carried him on our shoulders.”
  

  Sachin Tendulkar celebrating the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup win after being lifted on the shoulders of his teammates

• He loves celebrating the “Ganesh Chaturthi” festival and considers it as the most important day of the year.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Worshiping Ganesha

• Apart from cricket he loves other sports like Tennis, Football, and Formula 1 and is a huge fan of John McEnroe, Diego Maradona, and Michael Schumacher.

• He owned a restaurant in Colaba, Mumbai called “Tendulkar’s.” However, the restaurant couldn’t run longer and has been closed for business.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Restaurant

• He is the youngest Indian player ever to feature in Tests and ODIs at the age of 16.

• He is the first and the youngest Indian sportsperson to be awarded Bharat Ratna.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar with Bharat Ratna

• In 2012, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha where he served till April 2018.

• Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher gifted him a new Ferrari 360 Modena in 2002.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar with Michael Schumacher

• He was a ball boy during the 1987 World Cup semi-finals between India and England at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

• In November 1992, on the second day of the test between India and South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban; Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to be dismissed (run out) by using television replays. Karl Liebenberg was the third umpire who dismissed him.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar after he was dismissed (run out) by using television replays on the second day of the test between India and South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban

• He is ambidextrous, i.e. he bats and bowls with his right hand but writes with his left hand.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Writing With His Left Hand

• In 2003, he made a special appearance in a Bollywood film called “Stumped.”

• Sachin Tendulkar is said to be so concerned with his game that when he was struggling to score runs throughout the 2003 season, he even changed the way he used to play. Earlier, he had been dismissed on a number of occasions driving at wide balls outside his off stump, and when he scored 241* against Australia in January 2004, there was no driving outside the off stump. His determination towards his game is still hailed by the cricket fraternity around the world.

• Tendulkar’s career span of 24 years and a day is the fifth-longest in Test history.

• With his first-class tally of 50,192, Tendulkar is the third non-England player, after Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards, to enter the 50,000-first-class-runs club.

• Six times Sachin scored 1000 or more Test runs in a calendar year, the most by any batsman.

• Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest Indian and the third youngest overall to score a Test century. Had he scored a ton in his last Test innings, he would have been the oldest Indian to score a Test century as well.

• Tendulkar was dismissed ten times in Tests when he was in his nineties, the most for any batsman.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Nervous 90s Dismissal

• Twenty four years at the crease, Tendulkar faced 848 bowlers; if each one of them lined up to bowl one over at him, it would take nine full Test days plus a morning session.

• The 1998 Sharjah Tournament is considered to be his best tournament as he single-handedly helped India reach the finals and also made a significant contribution helping out India emerging victorious.
  

• In 1999, Shoaib Akhtar collided with him during a Test match in Kolkata, resulting in his being ruled run out by the third umpire.

• On 24 February 2010, he became the first Cricketer to score a double hundred in an ODI. He set this benchmark against South Africa at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, India.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar 200 Not Out Against South Africa At Gwalior

• In 2008, his wax statue was erected in London’s Madame Tussauds.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Madame Tussauds

• He has his own personalized kit in which he carries a painting of Tri-color (Indian National Flag) by his daughter Sara.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar With His Kit

• His upper-cut to Shoaib Akhtar for 6 during the 2003 World Cup is considered his epic shot ever by his fans.
  

• Throughout his career, Sachin Tendulkar was known to play with a heavy bat and despite several injuries during his 24 year-long career, he never used a lighter bat. On using a heavy bat, Sachin says-I used a pretty heavy bat and I was sometimes encouraged to move to a lighter one. Again, I did try but I never felt comfortable, as my whole bat swing depended on that weight. When I was hitting a drive, I needed the weight to generate the power. It was all to do with the timing. To me the bat should be an extension of your arm, and if you’ve reached the stage where it’s become an extension of your arm, why do you need to change?”
  

  Some of the bats used by Sachin Tendulkar during his career

• Sachin has a magnum heart, and every year, he sponsors 200 underprivileged children through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta.

• In May 2019, while posting a picture with Neha and Jyoti from the Banwari Tola village in Uttar Pradesh (the barbershop girls whose video went viral online; depicting the incredible story of taking over their father’s barbershop back in 2014 when he fell ill) through his official Instagram account, Tendulkar shared an image which was captioned, “A First for me! You may not know this, but I have never gotten a shave from someone else before. That record has been shattered today. Such an honour to meet the Barber Shop Girls. #DreamsDontDiscriminate”

• Back in 1996 against Sri Lanka, when a young Shahid Afridi scored a blazing maiden century off 37 balls to create a new world record, he had used Sachin Tendulkar’s bat. Reportedly, Sachin had given his bat to Waqar Younis who later gave it to Afridi.

• In June 2019, while the ICC Cricket World Cup was going on in England, filed a civil lawsuit against Spartan Sports International, an Australian bat manufacturer; accusing it of using his name and image to promote products and then failing to pay him two million dollars in royalties. The company agreed in 2016 to pay him $1 million a year to use his image, logo and promotional services to sell “Sachin by Spartan” sporting goods and clothing.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Spartan Sports Controversy

• Sachin and Sourav Ganguly are childhood friends and in July 2019, on the birthday of Sourav Ganguly, he shared a photo of their under-15 days on his Instagram account.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in Their Teenage

• Sachin has a passion for driving cars and during the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, he tried his hands in driving some vintage cars in London.

• Being a passionate car enthusiast, he also drove a formula car for the first time in June 2019 in Prague.

• After his retirement from cricket, he mostly enjoys playing Lawn Tennis and Golf.

• On various occasions, Tendulkar has been spotted enjoying alcoholic beverages.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Drinking Alcohol

• Tendulkar was dismissed 681 times in his career and for just over 60% of those dismissals, he was out caught.
  

  Sachin Tendulkar Dismissals

• In September 2019, in a LinkedIn video, he revealed that he had to “beg and plead” for the opener’s slot so that he could play in an aggressive manner. In the video, he said-In 1994, when I started opening the batting for India, the strategy used by all the teams was to save wickets. What I tried to do was slightly out of the box. I thought I could go upfront and take the opposition bowlers on. But I had to beg and plead to give me a chance. If I fail, I won’t come after you again.”

• In September 2019, he took his fans down the memory lane by sharing old footage of him practicing on a water-logged pitch. The little master can be seen practicing on a pitch that has standing water and the bowler is using rubber balls, bowling from a short distance.

Love and passion for the game always helps you find new ways to practice, and above all to enjoy what you do.#FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/7UHH13fe0Q

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) September 27, 2019

• In October 2019, during an interaction with a group of students in Maharashtra, he revealed that he wasn’t selected in his first selection trials. He said,When I was a student, the only thing in my mind was to play for India. My journey started at the age of eleven. I even remember when I went for my first selection trails, I was not selected by the selectors. At that time I was disappointed because I thought I had batted well, but the result was not as per expectation and I was not selected. But after that my focus, commitment and capacity to work hard increased further. If you want to realise your dreams, then short-cuts won’t help.”

• In June 2020, a video started doing rounds on the internet; the video features an interview from 1996 between Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar in which Gavaskar predicted Tendulkar’s rise to superstardom. In the interview, Gavaskar says,If by the end of his career, he does not score a minimum of 15000 runs and 40 Test centuries, I shall personally go and strangle him. 20 years down the line, my hands would not have the same strength and he might still survive, but I think I will get somebody to do that for me. He has got that much talent!”

• In February 2022, he invited Graham Bensinger, a popular American journalist, to India for a wide-ranging, three-day shoot during which he revealed that ahead of his farewell series in November 2013, he had talked to the BCCI and requested the board to fix the venue of his last match in Mumbai so that his mother could come to the stadium to watch him play. He also revealed that it was the only time that his mother had come to the stadium to watch him play. [15] He said,When I was about to play my last match, I told the board… the BCCI, that these two games are going to be my last but my only request and my wish is that I play my last game in Mumbai so that my mother could come to the stadium and watch. So they graciously agreed to host the last game in Mumbai and that’s the only time she has seen me play live in 24 years.”
  

  Sachin Tendulkar’s mother watching the farewell match of Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai

• For much of his career, his exploits on the cricket pitch were solo efforts. At the peak of his career, his popularity had grown so massively that people would watch as long as Sachin was batting, and the moment he got out, they would switch off their TV sets and go back to work, because they felt victory was no longer in the cards.
  

  Ramakant Achrekar Watching Sachin Tendulkar Playing On Television

Check out more interesting facts here: Sachin Tendulkar Facts