Let’s take a look at Part II of the 24 unknown facts about India’s greatest ever cricketer.
In the first part of the two-part series, we focused exclusively on Sachin Tendulkar’s early days as a cricketer. Today, we shift focus to things about Sachin’s career and the aspects of his life on and off the field that you may not have been aware of.
13. Sachin Tendulkar uses of the heaviest bats in the business, weighing 3.2lbs. Only South Africa‘s Lance Klusener used a heavier bat in world cricket.
14. Sachin Tendulkar decided to watch the movie Roja in 1995 with a beard and disguise so as to remain anonymous. The plain failed miserably when his glasses fell off and the public recognized him.
15. Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian cricketer who has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Padma Shri and recently the Bharat Rratna by the Indian government.
16. When a young, naughty Sachin fell from a tree on a Sunday evening during his summer vacation, while Guide was shown on national TV, his infuriated brother Ajit decided to punish him by sending him to his cricket coaching classes!
17. Sachin Tendulkar once confessed to a Marathi news channel in an interview that his weakness is ‘vada-pao’ – a popular Maharashtrian snack.
18. Sachin used his favourite vampire bat during the innings in which he notched up his historical 50th Test ton. Lucky bat, eh?
19. Sachin Tendulkar came on to bat in his debut test match against Pakistan wearing the pads that Sunil Gavaskar gifted him.
20. Sachin, a huge John McEnroe fan, used to grow his hair like the tennis legend and tie a band around it to copy his idol.
21. Sachin made 1,894 ODI runs in 1998, a record for ODI runs scored by any batsman in a calendar year.
22. Sachin is so possessive about his Ferrari that wife Anjali is not allowed to drive it. Talk about being possessive about your machines!
23. Sachin might come across as a shy guy but few people know the ‘little master’ is a prankster in the dressing room. Sachin once put a hose pipe into Sourav Ganguly‘s room and turned the tap on.
24. Sachin Tendulkar didn’t have a bat contract until the start of the 1996 Cricket World Cup. At the end of the tournament, Sachin’s performacnes earned him a contract from a famous tyre manufacturer.
