ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
Sachin’s record on the cricket field will be near impossible to break
1989 At 16 years and 205 days, Sachin became the youngest player to earn a Test cap for India. His debut match was against Pakistan in Karachi. “Things were all blurry when I came out to bat. I faced Wasim Akram and he bowled four straight bouncers at me. I thought to myself, ‘ welcome to Test cricket’.”
1999
Scored a hundred in the 1999 World Cup in England days after his father’s death “I’m back because of my family and my countrymen. It was my mother who told me I should go back and play in the World Cup.”
2001 Became the first batsman in the history of ODIs to score 10,000 runs “It’s nice to get so many runs. I don’t ever play for records but it’s nice to get milestones.”
2005
Became the highest century maker in Tests with 35th ton against Sri Lanka. “There was this pressure which was building up to go past Sunil Gavaskar in the Test century tally. The room service and housekeeping people in my hotel only spoke about me getting century No. 35. I was relieved when it finally happened.”
2010
Became the first batsman to score a double century in an ODI and later the most capped player in Test cricket, surpassing Steve Waugh’s tally of 168 Tests. “I didn’t start playing cricket to break records; it happened along the way. The dream was to play for India and do my best.”
2011
Won the World Cup with Team India. Virat Kohli summed up the sentiment of an ecstatic nation by holding him aloft and saying: “He has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders.” “I could not have asked for anything better than this. Winning the World Cup... it is the proudest moment of my life. It’s never too late.”