Batting legend Tendulkar turns 35

Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut in 1989

NEW DELHI (AFP) — The longest-serving current international cricketer Sachin Tendulkar turned 35 on Thursday, feeling as excited and enthusiastic about the game as he did on debut 19 years ago.

The record-breaking batsman, considered an icon in his native India and around the world, dismissed any suggestions of calling it a day despite being dogged by injuries in recent years.

"I am enjoying my cricket at the moment and don't want to think too much about the future," Tendulkar, recovering from a groin injury, said in a recent television interview.

"I have been playing almost non-stop for 20 years and want to focus only on the present. I prefer to take it series by series."

Tendulkar, who made his international debut in 1989 in Pakistan, needs just 172 more runs to overtake retired West Indian Brian Lara as Test cricket's leading run-scorer.

The star batsman, with 11,782 runs from 147 Tests, will get the chance to surpass Lara when India tour Sri Lanka in July for a three-Test series.

Tendulkar is already the world's top one-day batsman with 16,361 runs and holds the world records of 39 Test and 42 one-day centuries.

Rich tributes poured in from contemporaries like Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting, and India's one-day and Twenty20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as Tendulkar celebrated the day with his Mumbai team-mates and family.

"We may have to wait for many, many years to have another player like him," said Warne, the retired Australian leg-spin genius whose on-field duels with Tendulkar were legendary.

"I feel Lara and Sachin are the best batsmen of recent times, but I rate Sachin the best, not only because of his amazing cricketing ability, but also because of the exemplary manner in which he conducts himself on and off the field.

"He is a wonderful guy. Naturally and exceptionally talented, affectionate and always smiling. I feel Sachin is truly great because he is disciplined, co-operative, naturally talented and a dedicated player.

"He should be allowed to continue till he wants to."

Dhoni said Tendulkar was "the special guy made by God to play cricket at its best."

"The challenges Sachin has faced over the past 19 years have been huge," said Dhoni. "It is not only about on-field performance, but also about being able to compete with the fittest individuals in the team.

"I think to be consistent throughout is phenomenal. He is a very special guy who has been made by God to play cricket at its best."

India may have found talented young batsmen in Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, but still rely on veteran Tendulkar to deliver in crisis.

Tendulkar was the only senior batsman to retain a place in the recent one-day series in Australia, scoring an unbeaten 117 and 91 to help his team clinch the best-of-three-finals against the hosts.

He may have curbed a few strokes of late, but remains one of the most innovative batsmen of his era. Such is his charisma that he hogs the limelight as much with his failures as with his successes.

Australia skipper Ponting recently said his bowlers had to put in an extra effort to get rid of Tendulkar because the Indian had always looked solid.

"He is in the same league as Lara, but I've always felt Sachin has a tighter technique. Because he's so solid, our bowlers have had to work hard to get him out," said Ponting.

"At different times, we've worked out different plans, but Sachin comes up with something to combat them ... the sign of a truly class player."

Tendulkar celebrates birthday with teammates

Tendulkar celebrates 35th birthday with teammates

Chennai (PTI): A quiet but warm celebration marked Sachin Tendulkar's 35th birthday as the master batsman cut the cake surrounded by his cheerful Mumbai Indians team-mates at a city hotel here on Thursday.

As Tendulkar cut the rectangular-shaped cake which had the logo of Mumbai Indians, he was joined by two other Mumbai Indians players, Luke Ronchi and Vikrant Yeligati, who had a delayed celebration after their birthday clashed with the team's match against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday.

New Zealander Ronchi turned 27, while Yeligati celebrated his 23rd birthday.

Tendulkar admitted missing his family on the occasion and said, "I wish I could celebrate my birthday with my wife and children, but that is not so. They are joining me at Mohali tomorrow."

Asked what was the best gift he got today, Tendulkar said, "The wishes of my fans and teammates is the best gift I have received today. I hope I will perform better this year."

After cutting the cake, Tendulkar gave the first piece to Ronchi and then offered a piece to cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, who is also part of the Mumbai Indians think-tank.

On Tendulkar's insistence, the cake was distributed to every person present at the party, including the media members.

Sachin retains second spot in ODI ranking

Dubai: Sachin Tendulkar retained his second spot among batsmen while India were closed in by Pakistan for the fourth place in the championship table of the latest ICC rankings list Sunday.

Tendulkar has 777 rating points behind leader Graeme Smith of South Africa who is on 792 points while Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is at third with 770.

Pakistani Mohd. Yousuf is at fourth with 763 points while West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul jumped five places to return to top five after his memorable performances against Sri Lanka at home.

India ODI skipper M S Dhoni is at 10th with 728 rating points.

Meanwhile, after their 5-0 whitewash against Bangladesh, Pakistan narrowed the gap with fourth-placed India to three ratings points.

South Africa (127), Australia (127) and New Zealand (113) are ahead of India (113).

The most significant change of the rankings was Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan slipping out of the top 10 bowlers in the Reliance Mobile ICC Rankings for the first time in over a decade.

Muralitharan, who was last out of the top 10 ODI bowlers in July 1997, skipped the ODI series which the West Indies won 2-0 and has now slipped to 11th below Pakistan's Shahid Afridi who climbed 11 places to enter the top 10 for the first time in his career after a successful series against Bangladesh in which he bagged 12 wickets.

No Indian is in the top 10 of the bowlers' list headed by New Zealand's Daniel Vettori, while Harbhajan is at 18th spot.

ODI action will resume in June when England takes on New Zealand in a five-match series from June 15.

Tendulkar very keen to play first IPL tie

Mumbai: Batting maestro and skipper of Mumbai Indians Sachin Tendulkar, who is down with a groin injury, is very keen to play the first match of the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament against Bangalore Royal Challengers at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

"Everyone connected with cricket knows how passionate Sachin is about the game. After watching the Team Kolkata and Team Bangalore match yesterday, he is bent upon playing tomorrow’s match even if he is 90 per cent fit. He is scheduled to have a fitness test later today with our team physio and we will take a final decision on him just before the match," Mumbai coach Lalchand Rajput said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Rajput also confirmed that apart from Tendulkar there were no injury scares in the Mumbai camp.

"Former Indian seamer Ashish Nehra is declared fully fit. In fact Ashish played in all the practice matches so far and we have no other injury scares and all the players are looking forward to the first match," Rajput, who successfully managed the Indian team to its Twenty20 World Cup victory last year, said.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai team has added more former Indian cricketers to their support staff.

"We have summoned former Indian paceman Subroto Bannerjee, who is a level III coach and still plays grade cricket in Australia, to be our bowling coach while we have appointed Rahul Sanghvi as the team manager," the former Indian opening batsman said.

"(Former India stumper) Sameer Dighe, who is still fit as a fiddle, is our new fielding coach while Atul Bedade is our travel and logistics manager," he added.

Mumbai confident on Sachin

Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the third Test with South Africa, but Mumbai Indians are hopeful he will be fit for the start of the Indian Premier League.

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A groin injury has forced the Little Master out of the home series with South Africa and there had been fears he would not be fit for the start of the IPL on April 18.

However, he has been placed on a tailored rehabilitation programme and Mumbai expect him to be fit.

"Sachin is a player who does not like to miss any games. I am sure the physio will take care of him and he will be all right in time for the IPL," Mumbai Indians coach Lalchand Rajput said on Monday.

Tendulkar is closing in on Brian Lara’s record of 11953 career runs in Test cricket and it would appear he has aims to complete before heading into retirement.

The 34-year-old is disappointed to have so far failed to win the World Cup and has hinted he would look to play on to 2011.

''I am enjoying my cricket at the moment, but don't want to think too much into the future,'' Tendulkar told IBN Lokmat.

''Winning the World Cup is certainly still an unfulfilled dream and I would love to play in it.

''But 2011 is still some way away, and I don't want to look that far and commit myself to anything."

Tendulkar to participate in Olympic torch relay

New Delhi (PTI): The Indian leg of the Olympic torch relay received a shot in the arm on Monday with champion cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, volunteering to join the April 17 run in the capital.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Suresh Kalmadi confirmed Tendulkar's participation in the relay, which has witnessed protest by pro-Tibetan supporters worldwide.

"It's a matter of great pride that the torch would pass through India. There is a big rush among the sportspersons to be part of it. Sachin Tendulkar called up this morning and asked if we would like him to carry the torch," Kalmadi said.

Incidentally, Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has pulled out of the run with the flame, expressing his solidarity with the pro-Tibetan activists.

Kalmadi, meanwhile, assured that with adequate security in place, the relay would go without any hiccup.

"Milkha Singh, Pullela Gopichand, Anju Bobby George -- they all would take part in the relay and I appreciate their enthusiasm. In fact, there is a big demand to include them and we would accommodate as many as possible.

"The torch relay is a matter of pride and we would ensure that no untoward incident takes place. Everything has been planned and there would be adequate security measures," he said.

Asked if fool-proof security would make it difficult for the common people to get a glimpse of the torch, the IOA chief dispelled such fear and said, "We are making adequate provision so that the common public and school students can watch it."

सपना, जो अब तक न हुआ अपना' सचिन तेंदुलकर

सपना, जो अब तक न हुआ अपना'

	लारा को अपने समय का बेहतरीन खिलाड़ी मानते हैं सचिन

मास्टर ब्लास्टर सचिन तेंदुलकर ने कहा है कि विश्व कप जीतने का सपना अभी भी एक अधूरा सपना है और वे 2011 के विश्व कप में खेलना चाहते हैं.

एक निजी टीवी चैनल के साथ बातचीत में सचिन ने कहा, "विश्व कप जीतना अभी भी मेरे लिए ऐसा सपना है जो अधूरा है और मैं अगले विश्व कप में खेलना चाहता हूँ."

सचिन ने कहा कि वे अपने संन्यास की कोई समयसीमा नहीं तय करना चाहते. उन्होंने कहा कि वे अभी क्रिकेट का आनंद ले रहे हैं. उन्होंने कहा, "मैं क़रीब 20 साल से क्रिकेट खेल रहा हूँ और अपना ध्यान इसी पर केंद्रित रखना चाहता हूँ."

सचिन तेंदुलकर 147 टेस्ट और 417 वनडे मैच खेल चुके हैं. टेस्ट मैच में उनके नाम 11782 रन हैं और वनडे में उन्होंने 16361 रन बनाए हैं. टेस्ट मैच में उन्होंने 39 और वनडे मैच 42 शतक लगाए हैं.

मांसपेशियों में खिंचाव के कारण दक्षिण अफ़्रीका के ख़िलाफ़ मौजूदा सिरीज़ के पहले टेस्ट मैच में ही खेल पाए थे. सचिन इस समय आराम कर रहे हैं.

आलोचना

इंटरव्यू के दौरान सचिन ने इस बात के लिए मीडिया की आलोचना की कि उसने टीम में मतभेद की ख़बरों को हवा दी.

सीनियर और जूनियर खिलाड़ियों के बीच मतभेद की ख़बर बिल्कुल ग़लत है. हम सभी देश के लिए खेलने का महत्व समझते हैं. बिना किसी पुख़्ता जानकारी के मीडिया अपनी विश्वसनीयता को नुक़सान पहुँचा रहा है सचिन तेंदुलकर

उन्होंने कहा, "सीनियर और जूनियर खिलाड़ियों के बीच मतभेद की ख़बर बिल्कुल ग़लत है. हम सभी देश के लिए खेलने का महत्व समझते हैं. बिना किसी पुख़्ता जानकारी के मीडिया अपनी विश्वसनीयता को नुक़सान पहुँचा रहा है."

खिलाड़ियों की बोली और इसका क्रिकेट पर असर के बारे में सचिन ने कहा कि वे नहीं मानते कि इससे खेल पर कोई असर पड़ेगा. सचिन ने कहा कि वे ऐसा नहीं समझते.

उन्होंने कहा, "मैं पैसे के बारे में सोचकर क्रिकेट खेलना नहीं शुरू किया. मैंने कई रातें बिना सोए ही गुज़ारी हैं, क्योंकि मैं ये सोचता रहता था कि अगले दिन मैं कैसे खेलूँगा. खेल के उत्साह को पैसे से नहीं मापा जा सकता है."

भज्जी विवाद

ऑस्ट्रेलिया दौरे पर हुए हरभजन विवाद के बारे में सचिन ने हरभजन को क्लीन चिट दी और कहा हरभजन ने ऐसा कुछ भी नहीं कहा था, जो उन पर आरोप लगाए गए थे.

	सिडनी विवाद में सचिन ने भज्जी का साथ दिया

सिडनी टेस्ट के दौरान हरभजन पर आरोप लगा था कि उन्होंने एंड्रयू साइमंड्स के ख़िलाफ़ नस्लभेदी टिप्पणी की है. सचिन ने कहा, "मैंने हरभजन का बचाव इसलिए किया क्योंकि मैं जानता था कि हरभजन ने ऐसा कुछ नहीं कहा. मैंने ये सोचा कि हम सभी उनका साथ इस समय नहीं देंगे तो कब देंगे."

मैदान पर अभद्र भाषा के इस्तेमाल के बारे में उन्होंने कहा कि हर चीज़ की एक सीमा है और खिलाड़ियों को इसे पार नहीं करना चाहिए.

सचिन ने कहा कि ब्रायन लारा उन सब खिलाड़ियों में बेहतरीन थे, जिनके साथ या जिनके ख़िलाफ़ वे खेले हैं. सचिन ने कहा कि दक्षिण अफ़्रीका और वेस्टइंडीज़ के ख़िलाफ़ रिकी पोंटिंग का भी प्रदर्शन बेहतरीन रहा है लेकिन भारत के ख़िलाफ़ नहीं जबकि ब्रायन लारा सर्वकालीन महान खिलाड़ी हैं.

Sachin will be fit for IPL: Rajput

Sachin Tendulkar will miss India's third and final Test against South Africa with a groin injury but Indian Premier League's Mumbai Indians team is optimistic that their captain would regain fitness to play the Twenty20 tournament beginning April 18. "Sachin is a player who does not like to miss any games. I am sure the physio will take care of him and he will be all right in time for the IPL," Mumbai Indians coach Lalchand Rajput said today. Tendulkar had missed the second Test between India and South Africa at Ahmedabad due to a groin injury. Rajput didn't confirm if Tendulkar, with Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya would open the innings for the team. "There are four to five options that we have. We will look at the opposition team and wicket before deciding the openers for a match," he said. The Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians will start a preparatory camp on April 11, a week ahead of the beginning of the cash-rich league, which will see eight teams competing. The team management also announced the appointment of television commentator Harsha Bhogle as an advisor to the team who will aid in the planning of strategy. While acknowledging that he had never worked in the management of a team before, Bhogle said he was looking forward to aiding in the planning of the team's strategy. R Balachandran, the team's CEO, said the squad would also be starting their promotional campaigns in the coming days to connect with potential fans. "The fans will have a chance to interact with the team through the website and other means," he said.

Tendulkar forced out of third Test against South Africa

© Getty Images

Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar will not be a part of the Indian team for the third and final cricket Test against South Africa as he is still nursing a groin injury.

According to the BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah, Tendulkar has not yet recuperated completely from his injury to play in the third Test from April 11-15 at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.

"Sachin Tendulkar will be unavailable for selection for the third Test match due to his right groin injury. Sachin's recovery is making good progress but he has not recovered sufficiently to be available for the third Test," Shah was quoted as saying.

Tendulkar sensed trouble with his groin during the drawn series opening Test at Chennai.

"This decision has been taken to give Sachin the opportunity to make a full recovery from this injury. Sachin has a rehabilitation programme to continue with and will be monitored closely," he added.

I want to play 2011 World Cup: Tendulkar

New Delhi: The man Indian cricket missed in Ahmedabad against South Africa, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, has said that he will now weigh his career options series by series without setting a timeline for retirement.

Speaking exclusively to CNN-IBN's sister channel IBN Lokmat Sachin said, "Winning the World Cup is certainly still an unfulfilled dream and I would love to play in it."

Talking about his career and goal Sachin said, "I am enjoying my cricket at the moment, but don't want to think too much into the future. I have been playing almost non-stop for 20 years and want to focus only on the present."

About Harbhajan Singh controversy in Australia he said, "I defended Harbhajan because he had never said what he was accused of and I felt that if we players don't defend him this time, then when will we stand by him? It was not just important for us as cricketers, but it was important for all Indians staying abroad, not just in Australia."

"I just felt that Harbhajan was a teammate who needed support and I should take the lead," he added.

Asked about sledging on the field, Sachin said, "There are limits to everything which no cricketer should cross. Some things will happen on the field of play, everyone wants to win, and we should be prepared for it, as long as it is within limits."

When asked about the auctioning of players and will it destroy the soul of the sport he replied, "No, I don't think so at all. I never played the game thinking about the money I would make out of it, and neither do the youngsters today. This game has given me sleepless nights, just thinking of how I will play the next day. That excitement can never be measured in terms of money. Right from the start, all I wanted was to play well and score as many runs as possible. That has been my motivation, not money."

However, Sachin was critical of the media, saying that it had unfairly created the impression of a rift in the Indian team.

"These reports of senior-junior rift are totally false. In the team, seniors and juniors respect each other, and we all realise the importance of playing for the country. The media is damaging its credibility by giving stories without authentic information."

Sachin said that Brian Lara was the finest batsman he had played with or against." Ricky Ponting is good, especially when he is playing South Africa or West Indies, but not against India. Lara is a great player, a once in a lifetime player. He had amazing ability."

Sachin also said that he is very keen spending more time with his family, but will in some way be connected with cricket.

"The only thing I have known in all these years is to play cricket and I would love to be always associated with the game."

On Harbhajan controversy

First of all, Harbhajan hadn't said it. And what better time for the team to stand behind their team mate? Everyone's support was needed. It's just that I started it.

On Life after Retirement

Obviously, I'd like to stay associated with cricket. I don't know yet in what capacity. But cricket is my strength. I would like to stay with the game.

On family

I think it's more difficult to take care of me than my kids. I tend to lose my temper sometimes but my wife Anjali understands me. Everyone at home knows that nothing can come between me and my cricket.