Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was born on 24 April 1973 in Mumbai.  He started playing cricket at an early age of 16 years, and has been a consistent member of the Indian cricket team.  Nobody (selectors) has ever had courage to throw him out of the ultimate playing 11, and rightly so, as his records reflect.  So is it for real that he is so good that makes him the godfather of cricket? Or is this an overrated hype, which needs to be toned down?

  It has been quite a debate as to who is the Greatest batsmen of all times, there are quite a lot of them, and then there is Sachin Tendulkar who is considered in a totally different league. When comparing players, people often talk about their accomplishments, their records, their accolades. But often forget the fundamentals that makes a complete cricketer.

Lets consider 5 of such factors which essentially determine a players greatness at the highest level.

1.       Records-

When a cricketer is judged as to how good he is, people look at his record as a reference. Sachin Tendulkar’s records are as high as mount Everest. He has got almost all records to his name, you name it and its in his pocket.  Be it the highest amount of runs to highest amount of centuries, highest no. of matches to highest totals in an odi. So, it makes sense to say that he is the most experienced batter who must have spent most amount of time at the crease and has so many records to his name.

                                 
                   Winning the world cup was a dream come true for sachin.

2.       Technique-

Sachin is regarded as the most complete batsmen of all times.  Almost all his shots are like out of the coaching manuals. It’s the perfect blend of his technique and impeccable temperament which has earned him all the skyscraping records.

  His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and anticipation.

Although there have been many fantabulous cricketers of his league including ricky ponting, sir viv Richards, brain lara, but none of them have that extra flair which keeps little master going, even at an age of 39 years. So, it has to be agreed upon that sachin ranks right next to sir don bradman who was the ultimate batter of all times.

3.       Batting style-

Every batsmen has his unique style of playing which gives him an identity at the highest level. Sachin has this unique talent of perfect timing, aggressiveness, and composure. Among all his shots, his straight drive stands out as his trademark, like pontings pull and hook shots.

Why do I even mention that? Its just that there have been many wonderful players in this game, and iam sure many will be coming in the future, with all good looking records. The way they bat, the way they execute their shots make a difference in public opinion as to who is better than whom. And indirectly, the better a batsmen plays a shot, lesser are the chances of his failure. Sachin, even after a long career, has been the most successful run getter.

 Its just that he is able to play all the shots in the manual, better than the others,in supreme control.

When he entered the international arena, he used to attack and go after the bowlers just like his close companion Brain Charles Lara. He never got terrorized by any bowler in the world.

In his early days, he had and average strike rate of around 89, compared to his strike rate now which is 86. So, it is evidential that his aggressive style of playing has not changed much.

 

Lara and Ponting are sachin's closest competitors of his era

4.       Support at the non- strikers end-

This has to be the most logical and most supportive point of the discussion. During early 90’s, to late 90’s sachin, unlike his other counterparts was the one of the only few established and well ranked cricketers, who often failed due to the poor support at the non strikers end ,while players like Ponting flourished along with the likes of Steve Waugh, adam gilchrist, matthew Hayden and were well supported by their bowlers, quite unlike the Indians. He has often commandeered the indian batting and often turned out as lone shower.

  It took some time for others like Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxsman to stand up at the international level. This is what makes him special. Had he got support at the other end, who knows maybe he would've got a lot more credit.

5.       Pressure and expectations-

Contrary to what many think, Tendulkar has absorbed pressure more times than any player in his career. Living upto the expectations of billions of people all throughout India and throughout the world for nearly 22 years is something quite remarkable. Having said that, it will be unfair to others like jaques kallis, ricky ponting who are the other two players who have absorbed a lot of pressure, but none of them are openers in cricket.

  Apart from all these facts, one must not forget the impact of Sachin in the               indian team. Even if he is not playing, he is responsible for all the on and off the field with the captain and the support staff.  He is also one of those, who are seen around the youngsters uplifting their spirits and motivating others. So, all we can conclude is that Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the best batsmen after sir Donald Bradman to have taken strike and deserves to be the godfather of cricket.