Cricket: Cricket Great Tendulkar to Retire from cricket after 200th Test

Sachin Tendulkar is to retire from cricket next month after playing his 200th Test.
The Little Master, 40, will call it a day following the second match in the home series against West Indies.
Indian batting genius Tendulkar said: 'All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years.

RUN MACHINE

198 Tests - 15,837 runs; Average 53.86; 51 centuries;67 fifties; Highest score 248 not out

463 ODIs - 18,426 runs; Average 44.83; 49 centures;96 fifties

'It’s hard for me to imagine a life without playing cricket because it’s all I have ever done since I was 11 years old.'

In a statement on the BCCI website he added: 'It's been a huge honour to have represented my country and played all over the world. I look forward to playing my 200th Test match on home soil, as I call it a day.

'I thank the BCCI for everything over the years and for permitting me to move on when my heart feels it's time! I thank my family for their patience and understanding.

'Most of all I thank my fans and well-wishers who through their prayers and wishes have given me the strength to go out and perform at my best.'

The BCCI president N Srinivasan said: 'He is without doubt the greatest cricketer India has produced.'

Possibly the most idolised cricketer of all time, Tendulkar is the only player to have scored 100 hundreds in international cricket. In his 198 Tests he has scored 15,837 runs at 53.86, with 51 centuries and 67 fifties. His highest score is 248 not out against Bangladesh in 2004.

Drive to succeed: Tendulkar was nicknamed the Little Master for his runscoring ability
It was a similar story in limited-overs cricket. In his colossal 463 one-day games he hit 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83, with 49 hundreds and 96 fifties.

He has scored career total of 34,273 runs in international cricket, the most by any player and a record that gives plenty of weight to claims he is the best batsman of all time. The second highest is Ricky Ponting with 27,483.

Tendulkar is the youngest person to score a debut first-class hundred, at the age of 15. He made his Test debut at 16 against Pakistan in 1989.

His first Test hundred was the following year, an unbeaten 119 against England at Old Trafford. He does retire, however, without making a ton at Lord's.

He was the first man to fifty international hundreds in 2000 and in 2008 he surpassed former West Indies batsman Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer eight years later. His total will take some beating.

In 2010 he became the first person to score 200 in a one-day international. It was an unbeaten one, as well.

He was part of the World Cup-winning side of 2011 but retired from ODIs last year as part of an effort to usher in a new era for Indian cricket as well as to focus on Tests.

However, Tendulkar has not registered a century in 21 matches in the longest format and a decision over his future had been mooted for quite some time.

He was also the first overseas player to play for Yorkshire.

Teenage Tendulkar: The Indian batsman poses aged 16

First of many: Tendulkar on his way to his maiden Test hundred at Old Trafford in 1990

Attacking intent: Tendulkar taking on Australia in 1998

TENDULKAR FACTFILE

1973: Born April 24, Mumbai.
1988: Scores 100 not out in his first first-class match for Bombay against Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy becoming the youngest cricketer to score a century on his first-class debut, aged 15 years and 232 days.
1989: Makes Test debut for India against Pakistan in Karachi at the age of 16.
December: Makes ODI debut against Pakistan but is dismissed by Waqar Younis without scoring a run.
1990: Scores maiden Test century against England at Old Trafford.
1992: At the age of 19 he becomes the first overseas-born player to represent Yorkshire.
1994: September 9 - Claims his first ODI century against Sri Lanka in Colombo after 79 one-day matches.
1996: Leading run scorer at World Cup played in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with a total of 523 runs.
August: Takes on the India captaincy although suffers two relatively unsuccessful stints during a four-year period, winning only four Tests and 23 ODIs.
1997: Named Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
1998: Scores his first double century for Mumbai against Australia in the Brabourne Stadium.
1999: November - Involved in India's highest run-scoring ODI partnership with Rahul Dravid as the pair put on 339 against New Zealand. In the same match, he records the highest individual ODI score in Indian history with an unbeaten 186.
2000: Gives up the captaincy of India after the two-Test series with South Africa.
2001: Given a suspended ban of one game in light of alleged ball tampering during a match against South Africa at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. The ban is later lifted by the International Cricket Council after an investigation.
2003: Named the Player of the Tournament at the 2003 Cricket World Cup and scores 673 runs, the highest by any player in the tournament.
2005: Overtakes Sunil Gavaskar's record of the highest number of Test centuries by claiming his 35th against Sri Lanka in Delhi.
2006: Overtakes Kapil Dev claiming the record for the highest amount of Test appearances for India with 135.
2007: January 3 - Edges past Brian Lara's world record of runs scored in Tests away from home with 5,751 runs.
June: Becomes the first player to score over 15,000 ODI runs during a match against South Africa in Belfast.
2008: March - Plays a record-breaking 417th ODI match against Australia.
August - Becomes just the third player in Test match history, and the first from India, to play 150 matches when he is selected in the third Test against Sri Lanka.
June: Nominated as the 'Icon Player' of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, signing a deal worth $1,121,250 per season.
October 17 - Becomes the highest run scorer in Test cricket, passing Lara's previous mark of 11,953, when he reaches 16 in the first innings of the second Test against Australia.
2010: February 24 - Scores the first double century in one-day international history, hitting an unbeaten 200 against South Africa.
April - Named player of IPL3 after finishing as the tournament's top run-scorer.
August 3 - Becomes most capped player in Test history, making his 169th Test appearance in the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo to overtake former Australia captain Steve Waugh.
December 19 - Becomes first batsman to hit 50 Test centuries, achieving the feat against South Africa in Centurion.
2011: March - Hits two tournament centuries as co-hosts India win the World Cup.
November: Becomes the first man to score 15,000 Test runs during Test series against West Indies.
2012: March - Scores his 100th international century in an Asia Cup match against Bangladesh, the first player ever to do so.
December 23 - Announces retirement from one-day international cricket.
2013: October 10 - Announces he will retire from Test cricket after playing in his 200th Test against the West Indies in November.






Follow StuntStarBlog on Twitter and Facebook For regular updates