Full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Current age 35 years 72 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire
Nickname Tendlya, Little Master
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly
Height 5 ft 5 in
Education Sharadashram Vidyamandir School

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	147	238	25	11782	248*	55.31			39	49		47	98	0
ODIs	417	407	38	16361	186*	44.33	19137	85.49	42	89	1785	166	122	0
T20Is	1	1	0	10	10	10.00	12	83.33	0	0	2	0	1	0
First-class	247	386	40	20545	248*	59.37			65	95			165	0
List A	504	492	52	19913	186*	45.25			53	107			157	0
Twenty20	12	12	1	386	69	35.09	296	130.40	0	3	56	7	8	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	147	124	3862	2212	42	3/10	3/14	52.66	3.43	91.9	0	0	0
ODIs	417	265	8009	6795	154	5/32	5/32	44.12	5.09	52.0	4	2	0
T20Is	1	1	15	12	1	1/12	1/12	12.00	4.80	15.0	0	0	0
First-class	247		7221	4101	67	3/10		61.20	3.40	107.7		0	0
List A	504		10185	8423	201	5/32	5/32	41.90	4.96	50.6	4	2	0
Twenty20	12	4	57	65	2	1/12	1/12	32.50	6.84	28.5	0	0	0

Career statistics

Test debut	Pakistan v India at Karachi, Nov 15-20, 1989 scorecard
Last Test	India v South Africa at Chennai, Mar 26-30, 2008 scorecard
Test statistics	- Statsguru Test analysis - Player analysis menu/filter Test match list --------------------------------- Batting career summary Batting innings list High scores Batting series averages --------------------------------- Bowling career summary Bowling innings list Bowling match list Best innings bowling Best match bowling Bowling series averages --------------------------------- Fielding career summary Fielding innings list Most catches in an innings Fielding series statistics
ODI debut	Pakistan v India at Gujranwala, Dec 18, 1989 scorecard
Last ODI	Australia v India at Brisbane, Mar 4, 2008 scorecard
ODI statistics	- Statsguru ODI analysis - Player analysis menu/filter ODI match list --------------------------------- Batting career summary Batting innings list High scores Batting series averages --------------------------------- Bowling career summary Bowling innings list Best innings bowling Bowling series averages --------------------------------- Fielding career summary Fielding innings list Most catches in an innings Fielding series statistics
Only T20I	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
T20I statistics	- Statsguru T20I analysis - Player analysis menu/filter T20I match list --------------------------------- Batting career summary Batting innings list --------------------------------- Bowling career summary Bowling innings list --------------------------------- Fielding career summary Fielding innings list
First-class debut	1988/89
Last First-class	India v South Africa at Chennai, Mar 26-30, 2008 scorecard
List A debut	1989/90
Last List A	Australia v India at Brisbane, Mar 4, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians at Bangalore, May 28, 2008 scorecard

Profile

Sachin Tendulkar has been the most wholesome batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses, anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient in each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.

Though he has adopted a noticeably conservative approach in the last quarter of his career, there are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.

Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year old on a lightning fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman when Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.

Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. This was after he was turned away from a fast-bowling camp in Chennai by Dennis Lillee.

Tendulkar's greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, and he currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match.

Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.

Tendulkar looks at quitting ODIs

Sachin Tendulkar is seriously contemplating retiring from one-day cricket after India's home engagements against Pakistan and Australia later this season, it is reliably learnt.

Tendulkar, one-day cricket's most prolific and dominant batsman, will, however, continue playing Tests and will travel to Australia in December.

Sources close to Tendulkar said he was inclined to announce his retirement on this tour but was persuaded by friends to do so at home. India are scheduled to play seven ODIs against Australia and five against Pakistan before the end of the year.

Tendulkar had, along with Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, opted out of the forthcoming World Twenty20 in South Africa.

Earlier this week, he told the Times of the toll one-day cricket was taking on his body. "I enjoy every moment I have on a cricket field, but the recovery times between games these days are difficult, especially for one-day internationals, and that's my major obstacle," he said. "It does take its toll on the body. When you are 22 or 23, you recover a lot more quickly. But at 34, it's not so easy."

His innings at The Oval on Wednesday provided evidence of that; the last few minutes saw him hobbling with cramps, barely able to run the singles and, after his dismissal, taking a long time to climb the stairs to the dressing room.

Most of that innings, though, was spent in the kind of form he has displayed through this tour, one on which he showed he'd lost little of his formidability in one-day cricket. He began with two 90s against South Africa in Ireland, helping India win the series from being one down.

Restored to the top of the order after an indifferent World Cup where he batted in the middle order, Tendulkar has allowed himself the freedom to play the strokes of his majestic youth - the majestic cover drive, the pull and the lofted drive down the ground - and runs have flowed, both consistently and quickly.

In ten innings in the series so far, he has plundered 548 runs, with four 90s, at a strike rate of 84.3. The tour also reunited him with his opening partner Sourav Ganguly, and the pair, the most prolific in the history of one-day cricket, added four more century partnerships to take their tally to 25, 16 of them for the first wicket.

Tendulkar is 34 but already has 18 years of international cricket behind him; his 140 Tests and 394 ODIs have fetched him more than 25,000 runs, the most in international cricket.

He has before him the example of Shane Warne, who gave up one-day cricket in the last stage of his career to help him play more Tests.

'Sachin's 400 is stunning'

Sachin Tendulkar playing his 400th one-day match is unbelievable, almost sounds unreal. For me, great is not the word-very, very great.

Only a few players can even dream of achieving it. You need a lot of fitness, focus. You wake up every day and keep doing the same thing; you have to put in hard work, then handle pressure, maintain focus and form, it's not easy. It's not as it looks on TV.

He is a real hero. He has been serving the country for so many years with so much pride, I salute him.

Sachin is a great friend, too. I first met him in 1996-97 in Chandigarh, when I was bowling to the Indian team at the nets. Then, it was a dream come true to meet my hero. Anil Kumble, Navjot Sidhu and Mohammad Azharuddin were also there. At that time, I talked to Sachin and he told me to keep working on my game and work hard.

That was enough for me, those words coming from such a great man, it was an inspiring moment.

Then, one and-a-half years later, I was in the team. Since then, he was always there for me, guiding me on numerous occasions. He used to tell me you need to know where you want to go, for there will be a lot of distractions. He said your job is to remain focused and not get carried away. And he asked me to believe in myself, in my abilities.

After I took 32 wickets against Australia in 2001-02, I was taking everyone's autograph on the man-of-the-series sheet. Sachin wrote: "It is beginning of your career. A great start for your career. Keep working hard and make sure that you keep performing well." He also gave me two pairs of spikes (cricket boots) as a present.

Playing alongside him, sharing the same dressing room is a feeling I really can't explain. His presence in the dressing room itself is so important for us. Even now, when you feel you are not there on the ground, he comes and peps you up. He is a great role model.

It's not easy to play cricket like him, he has played all his cricket so authoritatively. It's absolutely stunning what he has done for the country.