After Sachin retires.....

Giving Tendulkar Bharat Ratna would require change of rules. | Sachin Tendulkar. | Bharat Ratna.

The calls for bestowing Sachin Tendulkar with the 'Bharat Ratna' may have got louder after India's World Cup triumph but giving the country's highest civillian honour to the batting icon would require tweaking of the criteria that has been laid down for the coveted award.

The 'Bharat Ratna' was started in 1954 and has so far been given to 41 eminent personalities, none of whom are sports-persons, the reason being the criteria for the coveted honour.

Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap says given the current rules "Tendulkar does not qualify for the honour and giving the award to him would require a change in the rules."

According to the criteria at present, the award is given for exceptional contribution in the fields of art, literature, science and social service. The criteria does not have any mention of sports.

Kashyap says the government has to decide whether it wants to include sports in the criteria for the award. The Sports Ministry will have to present such a proposal for cabinet approval.

"Once the cabinet gives its approval, the Home Ministry can bestow this honour on not just Sachin Tendulkar but any other athlete," he said.

Indian cricket team's prominent players such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag have all asked for the honour to be bestowed on Tendulkar after the side's World Cup win.

Fake images of Sachin's house on Google!!!!

I sledged only once, and it worked: Tendulkar.

Sachin Tendulkar says he, too, has sledged, but only once, and that as part of team strategy. The batting maestro needled Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath by telling he would go after his bowling and the ploy worked.

"I have never sledged per se merely for the sake of sledging. I did that only once as a part of team strategy. This was at the Kenya Champions Trophy. We were playing Australia." Tendulkar recollects in the book 'SACH' penned by Gautam Bhattacharya.

Tendulkar describes how he irked McGrath with a cheeky line.

"The match was played under overcast conditions. The wicket was also very damp. I had told Sourav before that I would do something to upset McGrath's rhythm. So, in the very first over, I stepped out to him. The first thing I said to him was 'Today I will hit you out of the ground.' He got really angry and started spraying the ball around. This was exactly what we wanted. As on that surface, he may have been very dangerous."
"We did win that match ultimately and I felt very happy. My sledging did work for the team."

"My own experience of sledging came very early on my first tour to Australia. I remember having blocked a delivery and the ball landed near my foot. I tried picking it up when Allan Border shouted from gully, 'Don't touch the ball.' So I stopped immediately."

Sachin's presence lifts the team's morale: Dhoni

Sachin Tendulkar's mere presence in the dressing room is enough to lift the morale of the players, feels India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Dhoni also urged the other players in the team to perform and take the pressure off the champion batsman. "When Sachin is with the team, the morale of the players is very high. But it is not right to put pressure on him. All the players should perform and take the pressure off him," said Dhoni.

The India skipper reiterated that the team would like to win the forthcoming World Cup for Tendulkar, who will, in all probability, be playing for the last time in cricket's biggest event.

"Team India wants to give (this) World Cup to Sachin as a gift," he said. In a lighter vein, Dhoni said that he wants the 37-year-old Tendulkar to play in a few more World Cups.

"God willing, Sachin can play in another three or four World Cups. If it happens the whole team will be happy," he said.

Asked about the team's preparations for the mega event, he said, "the team is ready for the World Cup, focusing on fitness and fielding."

Dhoni also recollected the historic moment when Tendulkar notched up his 50th Test century. "It was a treat to watch him standing from the other end," he said.

On Eden Gardens missing out on the India-England tie, he said he would miss the crowd and the atmosphere there.

I thank god when I score a hundred: Tendulkar.

Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the world record for scoring the maximum number of centuries in Tests and limited overs cricket, recalled how he reached the landmark 50th ton at Centurion against South Africa, a day after his father's birthday.

"When I scored my 50th hundred, the first thought that came to my mind was had my father been alive. I got my hundred on December 19, and my father's birthday was on the 18th. I wanted to do it for him. And I achieved it," Tendulkar said.

"When I score a hundred I thank god for the century, for giving me all the opportunities," he added.
His father was a poet, so is his elder brother, but Tendulkar feels that he is born only to wield the willow and not the pen.

"I haven't done that (writing) till now. I think God has given everyone some talent or the other. You have to appreciate the talent you get. I don't think I can create something of that level. I just have to sit back and appreciate that," Tendulkar said at a press conference in Mumbai.

"Like my brother said earlier...He had to leave cricket for me. I have to leave something for him," he said referring to the comment made by his elder brother Nitin Tendulkar, who said that since he had to sacrifice his cricket for Sachin, he chose poetry.

The champion batsman held the press conference to inform that a CD of the poems written by his late father, Ramesh Tendulkar, and a book of poems written by his brother Nitin, will be launched later this week.

Asked whether he was thinking of writing an autobiography, Tendulkar said, "Never thought about it. Never had time to think about it....maybe someday, if I feel like."

To a query, Tendulkar, who is reportedly a favourite to get the 'Bharat Ratna' this year, said winning India's highest civilian honour is a dream of every countryman.

"Every Indian would like to be honoured by the country. It is the biggest dream when your contribution is appreciated. But we are here for a specific reason, so I would not like to dwell too much on the topic," he added.

The 37-year-old cricketer said that among the many things that he learnt from his father, he would like to teach his children to be 'good-natured'.

"If a man's nature is good, he is always liked by people around him. Whether you perform well or not in the cricket is a different thing and your nature is a different thing."

"My father had given me the advice that your nature will be always with you. If you can become a good-natured person, that will stay with you forever and people around you will like you irrespective of whether you make runs or not. This is something I would want to teach my children," he said.

"I joined Kirti college, Ramakant Acharekar Sir being a coach there was one of the reasons. (In those days) I got to travel with my father a lot. Sometimes I dropped him en route to practice. That time I got the advice that in life everything is temporary, everything has a deadline. The only thing that does not have a deadline, is your nature. So you should ensure that it is always good. I'm just trying to follow that," Tendulkar said.

Stating that the death of his father during the 1999 World Cup was a great loss, Tendulkar recalled how his mother persuaded him to return to England to continue playing.

"I always felt the loss. It is a permanent. Nothing can replace him. But I know he is still there guiding me. His hand is there in all the decisions I take."

"I think, that phase in my life was most difficult. And at that stage mother said that 'if after his (father's) demise, you don't play cricket and stay here, what could be worse than that? You have to go and play for the country'," the master batsman said.

Asked what he had in mind for his son Arjun, Tendulkar said, "It is his life. He has to decide what he wants to become. If I had tried to do other things I wouldn't have reached here. Arjun should do in life what he wants to, something that he has passion for."

Tendulkar also recalled an anecdote about a camp, headed by Vasu Paranjpe that he had attended during his U-15 days.

"I had attended an U-15 camp in Indore for a month. Vasu Paranjpe sir was heading it. It was great fun. But on the second day itself the watchman complained the boys practised till 2 at night, troubling others (in the neighbourhood). To this Paranjpe said, "Arre, then why didn't you go and field?"

Nitin Tendulkar said he was inspired by Marathi poets like Govind ("Vinda") Karandikar, Vasant Bapat, and Mangesh Padgaonkar.

"I had read a lot of their work in my childhood, and wanted to write like them. My father understood my feelings and in 1982 'Pavsaala' (rains) was published," he said.

"Since childhood, cricket and poems have been my two passions. But while Sachin turned to cricket, I chose poems," he added.

Asked about his younger brother's best knock, Nitin said Tendulkar's unbeaten 140 against Kenya in the 1999 World Cup was probably his best.

"It was his 1999 World Cup innings. Father had died, Sachin had returned and everyone was shocked. Because of mother, he went back. I feel his knock against Kenya was his greatest. To hit a century with that frame of mind, it's unbelievable," he added.

Tendulkar is by far the best batsman of his era: Lara.

Sachin Tendulkar is by far the best batsman of his era, according to West Indies' batting legend Brian Lara who said it was an "honour" to rub shoulders with the champion Indian batsman during his playing days.


"Tendulkar is the best batsman of the world," Lara said on the sidelines of a cricket clinic at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Tuesday.

Asked if it was Tendulkar or Don Bradman, Lara added, "Respect his average (of 99.96) but haven't seen the Don batting. And making comparison is very difficult for all of us."

"It's an honour to be talked about in the same breath, and to have rubbed shoulders with him during my playing days. There is no superlative for Sachin," Lara said.

For over a decade, the world watched in awe as Tendulkar and Lara rewrote records after records.
Asked if an Indian victory in the upcoming World Cup would make Tendulkar bigger than him, Lara said, "It doesn't really matter. The records he has set, I don't think they are going to be surpassed."

Lara also believed that Tendulkar could one day surpass the West Indian's world record Test score of 400 not out. "It will soon be broken. I think Sachin is there, and there is Sehwag, Gayle; they may have the opportunities and they are all very attacking players. The top three in the batting order have the best chance," Lara said.

With cricket becoming more and more competitive, Lara said that the era of invincibility doesn't exist anymore.

"You can't really tell who is number one now," he said. "Ashes shows every country will have their time. It's going to be very competitive."

"Sports is a cycle. West Indies had their team, we were an invincible team once. Then Australia dominated for a long while. Now, the time of invincibility has gone," the stylish left-hander said.

Lara was full of praise for the current Indian team, ranked number one in Tests and two in ODIs.

"Indians are producing results we were not accustomed to. They have been on the top of their game, they will be a very tough team to beat (in the World Cup). They have a well-balanced team that can compete with anyone in the world," he said.

Talking about India's tradition of producing quality batsmen, Lara said, "India's batting has always been very good. The likes of (Mohammad) Azharuddin, Ravi Shastri, Navjot Singh (Siddhu), (Sanjay) Manjrekar, there were also world class batsmen, and Sachin was also there."

Quote on Sachin.

When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, 

• Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, 
• Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, 
• Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team,
• Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam.

When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, 

• Roger Federer was a name unheard of; 
• Lionel Messi was in his nappies, 
• The Berlin Wall was still intact, 
• USSR was one big, big country 
• Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to “open” the Nehruvian economy.

It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. 

Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. 

We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will.

videos of GOD :))

THE MOST FAMOUS OF GOD!!! 

sachin breaks the qadir.

Sachin receives the ICC AWARDS!!!

 

SEHWAG- SACHIN'S BIGGEST FAN!!!

 

RUN-OUT or????

 

 

 

classic century at sharjah 

 

 

BAAP BAAP HOTA HAI AUR BACCHA BACCHA!!!!

 

200* not out 

 

50th century

 

sachin's 1st run in odi