Sachin Tendulkar Bharat Ratna Awarded In 2013

Sachin Tendulkar

Award Name : Bharat Ratna

Year of Award : 2013

Award for : Sports and Games

Location : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Bharat Ratna

Indian cricket player Sachin Tendulkar is is considered one of the greatest batsmen, and most admired cricketer, of all time.

Sachin Tendulkar was born April 24, 1973, in Bombay, India. Given his first cricket bat at the age 11, Tendulkar was just 16 when he became India's youngest Test cricketer. In 2005 he became the first cricketer to score 35 centuries (100 runs in a single inning) in Test play. In 2007 Tendulkar reached another major milestone, becoming the first player to record 15,000 runs in one-day international play. Considered by many to be the greatest cricket player of all time, Sendulkar took home the World Cup with his team in 2011 and retired from the sport two years later.

Early Years

Largely considered cricket's greatest batsman, Sachin Tendulkar was born April 24, 1973, in Bombay, India, to a middle-class family, the youngest of four children. His father was a professor while his mother worked for a life insurance company.

Named after his family's favorite music director, Sachin Dev Burman, Tendulkar wasn't a particularly gifted student, but he'd always shown himself to be a standout athlete. He was 11 years old when he was given his first cricket bat, and his talent in the sport was immediately apparent. At the age of 14, he scored 329 out of a world-record stand of 664 in a school match. As his accomplishments grew, he became a sort of cult figure among Bombay schoolboys.

After high school, Tendulkar enrolled at Kirti College, where his father also taught. The fact that he decided to go to the school where his father worked came as no surprise. Tendulkar's family is very close, and years after he'd achieved stardom and cricket fame, he continued to live next door to his parents.

Professional Play

Tendulkar made his debut in international competition at 16 with a match against Pakistan in Karachi. He wasted little time matching the expectations surrounding his arrival on the professional field. At the age of 18 he scored a pair of centuries in Australia, then in 1994 he racked up a score of 179 in a match against the West Indies.

Tendulkar was just 23 when he was named captain of his country's team for the 1996 World Cup. While the tournament proved to be a disappointment for his club, Tendulkar did nothing to diminish his own standing as one of the world's dominant players, as he finished out the World Cup as the event's top scorer.

In India, Tendulkar's star shined even brighter. In a country reeling from troubled economic times, the young cricketer was seen as a symbol of hope by his countrymen that better times lay ahead. One national newsweekly went so far as to devote an entire issue to the young cricketer, dubbing him "The Last Hero" for his home country. His style of play—aggressive and inventive—resonated with the sport's fans, as did Tendulkar's unassuming off-the-field living. Even with his increasing wealth, Tendulkar showed humility and refused to flaunt his money.

Tendulkar's dominance of his sport continued even as he moved into his 30s. He scored his record-breaking 35th century in Test play in December 2005 in a match against Sri Lanka, and in June 2007 he set another mark when he became the first player to record 15,000 runs in one-day international play. In January 2010 he again moved into the record books when became the first batsman to score 13,000 runs in Test play. Just one month later, he registered another first, a "double century" in a match against South Africa. That same year he was named the 2010 International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year.

In April 2011 Tendulkar chalked up another milestone when he led India to a World Cup victory, the first in his long career. During the tournament, the batsman again showed why he's one of the sport's greatest athletes by becoming the first batsman to score 2,000 runs and six centuries in World Cup play.

Post-Cricket Career

On June 4, 2012, Tendulkar was sworn in as Rajya Sabha member at the Parliament House in New Delhi. The following year, he retired from cricket activities across the board and began accumulation post-retirement accolades, notably becoming the first sportsperson and youngest person to be conferred the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor, in November 2013.