The 'God' Retires At 40; Interesting Facts To Know

By siliconindia | Friday, 11 October 2013, 14:43 Hrs

#1 His full name is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and was named after legendary Indian music director Sachin Dev Burman. He was born on April 24, 1973, in Mumbai and his elder brother Ajit encouraged him to play cricket.

#2 Sachin would ask his friend Ramesh Pradhe to dip a rubber ball in water and hurl it at him. He wanted to see the wet marks left on the bat to know whether he had middled the ball.

#3 He is a right-handed batsman and spin bowler, but writes with his left hand.

#4 He attended the MRF Pace Foundation to get trained as a fast bowler, but unimpressed by his bowling, Australian bowling legend Dennis Lillee recommended him to focus on batting.

#5 He was a ball boy during the 1987 World Cup semi-finals between India and England at Wankhende, India lost.

#6 Sachin calls Ganguly Babu Moshai, Bengali for elder brother, and Ganguly calls him Chota Babu – little brother. Sachin is a known prankster; he once put a hose pipe into Sourav Ganguly's room and turned on the tap. Ganguly awoke to find his gear floating.