Tendulkar prepares for an emotional farewell
Legendary India batsman will stride out for his 200th and final test at home in Mumbai - 24 years after his extraordinary career began
Sachin Tendulkar is set for an emotional farewell when he plays his 200th and final test at home in Mumbai starting on Thursday, exactly 24 years after he began his record-breaking career.
Former teammates, one-time opponents will join fans at the Wankhede stadium to acclaim the world's leading test and one-day batsman, and the only one to score 100 international centuries.
Speaking at a function to celebrate his career, Tendulkar gave some insight into the famous work ethic that has enabled him to play on to the age of 40, long beyond his contemporaries.
When I speak about cricket, I will speak about Tendulkar. Just like you mention Muhammad Ali when you mention boxing and Michael Jordan when it comes to basketball
"I think every step was different, every tournament required a different type of preparation," he said. "Without preparation, things wouldn't have been the same."
Since making his debut as a 16-year-old in Karachi in 1989, Tendulkar has become almost a deity for the billion-plus population of India, helping the country win the 2011 World Cup and reach the top of the world rankings.
After racking up a staggering 15,847 runs in his 199 tests, even his rivals acknowledge that Tendulkar is second only to Donald Bradman in the pantheon of batting greats.
In his final interview before he died in 2001, the Australian said Tendulkar was the one modern player who came closest to his own legendary batting style.
"It was just his compactness, his stroke production, his technique. It all seemed to gel as far as I was concerned," Bradman said in the 1996 interview.