Mumbai: Even 10 years after quitting cricket, Sachin Tendulkar remains ingrained in public consciousness. As the world’s most decorated batsman has moved on and expanded his horizon, his contemporaries see him as more communicative, expressive, and accessible. Some even see in him the “potential” to become India’s ambassador of some country one day.
Tendulkar, now 50, retired from all cricket at the end of India’s win over the West Indies in the second Test match in Mumbai on November 16, 2013 — in a highly emotional atmosphere that moved him to tears at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium. He continues to be loved as deeply as ever while he remains closely connected with the game — perhaps more than ever — carrying a host of responsibilities.
An instance of Tendulkar’s continuous involvement with the game was witnessed at Wankhede Stadium on 15 November, as he made his presence felt during the India-New Zealand World Cup semi-final match. He was there in twin capacities — as brand ambassador of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and also of UNICEF. His popularity has lessened not one bit as spectators from the stands cheered him wholeheartedly and Tendulkar reciprocated by waving at them several times.
His statue was installed at the stadium, aptly next to the Sachin Tendulkar Pavilion, a few days ago before the Wankhede match — a first-of-its-kind honour for a Mumbai cricketer, ahead of local legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Dilip Sardesai.
Unveiled 🤩
Sachin Tendulkar inaugurates his statue at the Wankhede Stadium!#CWC23 pic.twitter.com/nXim0rKfUI
— ICC (@ICC) November 1, 2023
Missing No.10 jersey
Tendulkar retired exactly 10 years ago, after a 24-year-long international career, and the game is poorer without him. His last competitive match was the Test against the Darren Sammy-led West Indies, who lost the five-day match by an innings and 126 runs inside three days. In the lone Indian innings, Tendulkar scored a 118-ball 74 that ended with him edging off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine. The maestro, however, never really left the game. He has been involved in some capacity or the other.
Just before his retirement, the Congress party nominated him to the Rajya Sabha (2012-2018), and since quitting the game, different organisations have been seeking his services in various roles. Also, many honours have come his way. In 2014, the government bestowed on him the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. He is also designated as a ‘National Icon’ by the Election Commission of India, and is motivating people to come out and vote.
On the field, no player has taken his iconic ODI jersey No.10 in respect of his iconic stature. It is as good as the jersey having been ‘retired’, though players are under no compulsion to not take this number.
One post-retirement task for Tendulkar was interviewing candidates for the post of the national team coach and recommending names to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as a member of its Cricket Advisory Committee.
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The World Cup connection
From being a ball boy at the Wankhede Stadium during the 1987 World Cup, Tendulkar appeared in six World Cups, from 1992 to 2011. So, when on Wednesday he stepped on to the Wankhede turf during the India-New Zealand semi-final encounter, he completed a sort of full circle.
On Wednesday, Tendulkar was in great demand even as he watched Virat Kohli break his world record of 49 One-Day International centuries by scoring his 50th. Like a true sportsman, Tendulkar paid rich tributes to his protégé. “I couldn’t be happier that an Indian broke my record. And to do it on the biggest stage — in the World Cup semi-final — and at my home ground is the icing on the cake,” he tweeted.
Immediately after completing his century, Kohli bowed down to Tendulkar, waving both his hands up and down. Tendulkar was sitting in the pavilion with former England football captain David Beckham, who also applauded wholeheartedly.
Kohli has erased a few of Tendulkar’s records — including the highest run tally of 673 at a single World Cup, in 2003 — but many still belong to the Little Master. Tendulkar appeared in 664 international matches, tallied 34,357 runs, and hammered 100 centuries — the only cricketer to achieve this distinction in the history of the sport. Kohli now has 80 international centuries, and needs 20 more to come at par with his mentor.
“His records are such that there will always be somebody chasing some of his records. So, he is always going in the limelight for what he has achieved,” says former India Test player Yajurvindra Singh Bilkha.
Life after retirement
Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More is more than competent to analyse Tendulkar’s career, particularly the 10 years since his retirement. More kept wickets when Tendulkar made his Test debut, against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989; he was a selector (2002-03 to 2005-06) when the master batsman was still playing; and, both are presently associated with the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.
“He is a great ambassador of the game and the country. A sight of Sachin makes the day or the life of people. Whatever he is doing is for the benefit of India, his priority is India and the Indian people. That’s the beauty of Sachin,” the former Baroda captain tells The Print. “It’s a beautiful story about him. I feel we are very lucky that he was born in India.”
While More mentioned the word ‘ambassador’ more as a metaphor, physiotherapist Ali Irani, who worked for several years with the Indian team in the 1990s, feels Tendulkar has the “potential” to actually serve as India’s ambassador.
“At 15 or 16 years, he had the maturity of a 25-year-old. Even after retirement, Sachin cannot get cricket out of him, and cricket cannot get him out of it. He is very approachable. It will be a boon for youngsters if they speak to him and learn,” Irani, who accompanied Tendulkar when he went to take possession of his first car, the Maruti 800, from a Mumbai showroom in late 1980s, tells The Print.
“His social media posts have something to do with his modesty. I am looking forward to him being appointed India’s ambassador of some country one day. He has the potential; he has the mannerisms etc. to be an ambassador.”
Behind the scenes
Tendulkar has been involved in charity, some of which is known to the world and some no one knows about. Among the assistance he has closely guarded has been to the Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA), which works for welfare of retired cricketers.
“With Bharat Ratna behind him and having been a MP, he has now got much more responsibility and he is coming out quite well doing that. Recently, he came for Anshuman Gaekwad’s book launch in Mumbai and made his presence felt there,” says Bilkha.
“So, this way he is making sure that he is always present there on important occasions to help those who had supported him in his cricketing days. He does a lot of charity that none of us really know about, like in the ICA he supported us for a few things but made sure that no one knew that it was coming from him. He can always do more,” feels the former Maharashtra and Saurashtra captain, who is now a member representative of the ICA.
Tendulkar guards his charitable work fiercely, unless it is done in public. But he prefers anonymity, as Bilkha pointed out regarding the ICA. In September 2018, he, along with his wife Anjali, launched the ‘Sachin Tendulkar Foundation’, which is very close to his heart.
The known charity Tendulkar involved is Mumbai-based NGO Apnalaya, besides that in his role as an MP by adopting two villages in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana Scheme, and transforming them. Tendulkar and a doctor have also worked on a ‘Crusade against Cancer in Children’ campaign.
Social media presence
Before India’s two-match home Test series against the West Indies commenced in 2013, Tendulkar had announced that it would be his sayonara to cricket. He has been more visible since and is involved in several charitable initiatives.
With the responsibility of playing for India and Mumbai off his shoulders, Tendulkar has been more frequent on social media platforms. He posts trivia, stories, his experiences, his childhood mischief tales, and the odd video of him playing a musical instrument that has been liked by millions of his fans.
Childhood is incomplete without a bit of mischief.
When I was a kid, my friends and I would flatten the tyres of the cars parked in Sahitya Sahwas. The thorough professionals that we were, our job wasn’t done until ALL 4 tyres were flattened.
Rewind the time and tell me the…
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 14, 2023
“The best part is that he always conveys good messages through social media. People watch him and listen to him and take his word very seriously, like they do for Amitabh Bachchan’s tweets,” points out More.
Bilkha says: “He has realised that people want to hear his stories, his anecdotes, his experiences — not only cricketing but about various other things, like his interaction with people. Such things are making him much more humane.”
Tendulkar has touched all segments of the society and left an indelible mark on even those who have no connection with cricket. Kalimullah Khan, popularly known as the ‘Mango Man’ from Malihabad near Lucknow, grew a special variety of mangoes a few years ago and named it after the master batsman. “Tendulkar is a global hero. I want his name to be remembered till the time this world exists,” he said.
More had the final word: “Until the time I am alive, people will be talking with me about Sachin, like they do for Gary Sobers, Vivian Richards, and Sunil Gavaskar. It’s because a player like Sachin comes once in 50 years or 100 years. I still miss him on the field and sometimes I feel he should still be playing.”
The writer is a journalist based in Delhi and has covered cricket for three decades. He tweets at @AlwaysCricket
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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