Fan following

Sachin Tendulkar's entry into world cricket was very much hyped up by former Indian stars and those who had seen him play. By scoring his first half-century in his second match and his first century aged 17, Tendulkar's consistent performances earned him a fan following across the globe, including amongst Australian crowds, where Tendulkar has consistently scored centuries.^[21] One of the most popular sayings by Sachin's fans is "Cricket is my religion and Tendulkar is my God".^{[49][50][51][52]}

At home in Mumbai, Tendulkar's fan following is so great that he is unable to lead a normal life. Ian Chappell has said that he would be unable to cope with the lifestyle Tendulkar was forced to lead, having to "wear a wig and go out and watch a movie only at night".^[10] In an interview with Tim Sheridan, Tendulkar admitted that he sometimes went for quiet drives in the streets of Mumbai late at night when he would be able to enjoy some peace and silence.^[53]

Sachin-Individual Honours

• Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, 2008
• ICC World ODI XI: 2004, 2007
• Player of the tournament in 2003 Cricket World Cup
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 1997
• Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, 1999
• Arjuna Award, by the government of India in recognization of his outstanding achievement in Cricket, 1994
• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports, 1997-98

In September 2007, Australia's former leg-spinner Shane Warne published his list of 50 greatest cricketers ever, in which Sachin had secured the number 1 spot.^[47] In January 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that Sachin should be conferred with an honorary knighthood for his contribution to international cricket.^[48]

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkarpronunciation (help·info) (Marathi: सचिन रमेश तेंडुलकर) (born April 24, 1973 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India) is an Indian cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.^[1][2][3] In 2002, Wisden rated him as the second greatest Test batsman after Sir Donald Bradman, and the greatest One-day international batsman.^{[citation needed]}

He holds several highly regarded batting records and is the leading scorer of centuries in both Test cricket and one-day internationals. He is one of the three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in Test cricket, and the first Indian to do so.^[4] He is the most prolific run scorer in ODIs by a margin of over 4000 runs and has scored the most runs in international cricket as a whole. He crossed 16,000 runs in ODIs on February 5, 2008 while playing against Sri Lanka in Brisbane, Australia. Affectionately called 'The Little Master' or 'The Master Blaster',^[5][6][7] Tendulkar made his first-class debut for the Mumbai cricket team aged 14 and scored a century on debut. He made his international test debut in 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi at age 16.

He is the only cricketer to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honour and the only cricketer and one of the first sportsmen (along with Vishwanathan Anand) to receive the Padma Vibhushan (2008), the second highest civilian honour of India. He is the most sponsored player in world cricket and has a huge fan following even amongst foreign audiences. Tendulkar has made numerous commercial ventures including opening a chain of restaurants in India.