WHEN THE LORD WANTED TO PLAY  CRICKET.....SACHIN WAS BORN       (MESSAGE ON THE SCREEN OF JAMTHA, NAGPUR)

"Sachin is sub-continent's Cricketing jewel. He is destined to break many more records in the coming years. His (Tendulkar's) hunger and passion as a batsman and for the game is amazing. I still make it a point to sit down and watch him bat. He is a cricketing jewel of the subcontinent." - Hanif Mohammad, who played 55 Tests and 238 first class matches in a glittering career where he earned the sobriquet of "Little Master" for the longest innings in Test history - his 970-minute 337 against West Indies for Pakistan in Bridgetown in 1957-58, said he ranked India's Lala Amarnath and Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian Sir Garry Sobers and Brian Lara as some of the best players of the last century.

Andrew Symonds:

wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin. " To Sachin, the man we all want to be "

Virender Sehwag:

Both of us have come a long away and it is a great honour that Tendulkar thinks I come close to resembling him as a batsman. It is a great honour, like a dream come true. If I die tomorrow I'll be the happiest man because I played this game because of Tendulkar, and Tendulkar himself saying that I resemble him - there is no bigger compliment than that.

Mathew Hayden:

I have seen GOD , he bats at no.4 for india in Tests.

Ravi Shashtri:

He is someone sent from up there to play cricket and go back.

Mark Taylor:

We did not lose to a team called india...we lost to a man called Sachin.

Brain Lara:

Sachin is a genius , i am a mere mortal!

Barry Richards:

Sachin is crickets GOD

Martin Crowe:

The shot played on this ball is only possible for the GOD of cricket.

Ian Botham:

If someoom the highest peak of the world.

Paul Strang:

What we [zimbabwe] need is 10 tendulkars.

Steve Waugh:

There is no shame losing to such a great player(sachin).

Shane Warne:

I would go to bed having nightmares of sachin dancing down the ground and hitting me for sixes.

Mathew Hayden:

His life seems to be a stillness in a frantic world... [When he goes out to bat], it is beyond chaos - it is a frantic appeal by a nation to one man. The people see him as a God...

Viv Richards:

He is 99.5% Perfect.. I'll pay to watch him play.

Dennis Lillie:

If I had to bowl to Sachin I would bowl with a halmet on. He hits the ball so hard.

Steve Waugh:

After being defeated in the Coca-Cola Cup finals in Sharjah) "It was one of the greatest innings I have ever seen. There is no shame being beaten by such a great player, Sachin is perhaps only next to the Don''

Sir Don Bradman:

I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...hi compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel! in reference to Sachin Tendulkar.

Michael Kasprowicz:

Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours."

Shane Warne:

I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player."

Wasim Akram:

Today, he showed the world why he is considered the best batsman around. Some of the shots he played were simply amazing. Earlier, opposing teams used to feel that Sachin's dismissal meant they could win the game. Today, I feel that the Indian players, too, feel this way.
Wasim Akram, after game at Hobart, CUB series, 1999

Brett Lee:

You might pitch a ball on the off stump and think you have bowled a good ball and he walks across and hits it for two behind midwicket. His bat looks so heavy but he just waves it around like it's a toothpick. Brett Lee, on Sachin Tendulkar's batting, 1999

Viv Richards:

I think he is marvellous. I think he will fit in whatever category of Cricket that has been played or will be played, from the first ball that has ever been bowled to the last ball that's going to be. He can play in any era and at any level.

Barry Richards:

Consensus is that Sir Donald Bradman was the best batsman ever to play Cricket. Sir Don did not play One-Day Cricket but if he did, he could easily be Sachin Tendulkar.

BBC Sports:

Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives.

Wasim Akram:

"I dont know what to bowl at him. i bowled an inswinger n he drove me thr covers of d front foot. then i bld an outswinger n he again punched thr covers of d backfoot(for tamil fans-dai avan eppadi pottalum adikaranda). he is d toughest batsmen i 've bowled to. he shold live long n score lots of runs, but not against pakistan(smiling) "--LEGENDARY WASIM AKRAM on our own SACHIN on 24th april 2004 on espn Sachin's 30th B day program.(i think) on his knock in 2003 worldcup.

Sunil Gavaskar:

India's fortune will depend on how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing.

Richie Benaud:

He has defined cricket in his fabulous, impeccable manner. He is to batting what Shane Warne is to bowling.

Geoffrey Boycott:

Technically, you can't fault Sachin. Seam or spin, fast or slow nothing is a problem.

Eddie Barlow:

He is Sachin Tendulkar. I hope he stays Sachin Tendulkar. We need a new player, a player in his own way. He has a technique which is the hallmark of a great player. Everything indicates that he will be a great player and I am sure he will prove me right. Reminds me of Barry Richards.

Greg Chappell:

He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease.

Abdul Qadir:

I Was fielding in the covers Tendulkar came out to bat in his debut Test at Karachi. I still remember Waqar Younis was at his peak form at that time. Tendulkar tried to drive Waqar through the covers off his very first ball in Test cricket but was beaten all ends up. But I walked to captain Imran Khan and told him 'this kid looks very good' and Imran agree with me.

Sir Garfield Sobers:

I have watched a lot of Tendulkar and we have spoken to each other a lot. He has it in him to be among the very best.

Peter Roebuck:

Sometime back I had written a piece that said that Sachin's the master and Lara a genius with his head high up somewhere. That's it!

Jeff Thompson:

Sachin is an attacker. He has much more power than Sunny. He wants to be the one to set the pace. He has to be on top. That's the buzz about him.

Ian Healy:

Tendulkar is the most comfortable I have seen in Perth. He scored that century in the bouncy pitch with Hughes, McDermott and Whitney gunning for him. He only had 60-odd when No 11 came in. I've seen him against Warne too.

Mike Coward:

Sachin's the best. I've had this view since I saw him score that hundred in Sydney in 1992. He's the most composed batsman I've ever seen.

Hashim Amla:

Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it. Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight.

Shane Warne:

"Sachin Tendulkar is, in my time, the best player without doubt - daylight second, Brian Lara third."
Shane Warne delights the Indian press with his views on batting greats of this era

Shahrukh Khan:

"Maybe the country doesn't pray for me like they do for Sachin Tendulkar, but I know I'm on a good wicket as well. "

Martina Navratilova:

"Sachin was so focused. He never looked like getting out. He was batting with single-minded devotion. It was truly remarkable. It was a lesson."

Tennis legend joins the Sachin Tendulkar fan club after watching him bat at Sydney.

Alistair Campbell:

After seeing India win the Coca Cola Cup final at Sharjah in November '98
"He has everything a top batsman needs. Tendulkar is a classic example of a player being so good that his age is an irrelevance"

David Boon:

"Technically he stands out as the best because of his ability to increase the pace at will"

Cricket Historian Vasant Raiji:

"I have always felt C. K. Nayadu was the best. I now think sachin has the honour of being the most outstanding batsman of all time."

Steve Waugh:

"You take Don Bradman away and he is next up I reckon."

Adam Hollioke:

"In an over I can bowl six different balls. But then Sachin looks at me with a sort of gentle arrogance down the pitch as if to say 'Can you bowl me another one?'"

Tony Greig:

He is cool, has magnificent temperament, and is so mature you tend to forget his age. I can't think of any other example of a player who has so dominated the world before the age of 25.

Allan Border: (after India won the Coca-Cola cup )

"Hell, if he stayed, even at 11 an over he would have got it."

Ajay Jadeja : 

"I can't dream of an innings like that. He exists where we can't."

David Gower : 

"In the last session in Nagpur, when the Indian chase was still on, Tendulkar hit a reverse sweep, an orthodox sweep and a lofted cover drive to (Ian) Blackwell. They were all exquisite cricket shots. To play those shots deliberately in such quick succession, off almost similar deliveries, was genius. That was a little jewel, just those 3-4 minutes.
"It reminds you how very few people are special. It was a case of great thinking and good technique."

Desmond Haynes :

In terms of technique and compactness, Tendulkar is the best: Desmond Haynes.

Mark Taylor :

He's a phenomenon. We have to be switched on when he plays allow him no boundries, for then he doesn't stop

Wasim Akram :

"Cricketers like Sachin come once in a lifetime and I am privileged he played in my time,"

"Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?" Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin's catch. (Do you even know whose catch you have dropped ?)

Allan Donald : 

His shot selection is superb, he just lines you up and can make you look very silly. Everything is right in his technique and judgement. There isn't a fault there. He is also a lovely guy, and over the years I've enjoyed some interesting chats with him... Sachin is in a different class to Lara as a professional cricketer. He is a model cricketer, and despite the intolerable pressures he faces back home, he remains a really nice guy... Sachin is also the best batsman in the world, pulling away from Brain Lara every year...

Anil Kumble : 

He's shy little gentleman. I am very privileged to have played with him and seen most of the runs that he has scored. I am also extremely happy to have shared the same dressing room... He is a very reserved person and generally keeps to himself. He is very determined, committed and doesn't show too many emotions. He just goes about doing his job.

The thing I admire most about this man is his poise. The way he moves, elegantly without ever looking out of place in any condition or company, suggests his pedigree. I remember he had once come to New Delhi in the 1990s to collect his Arjuna Award (India's highest award to its top sportspersons) and he asked me if I would attend the function. He is a very sensitive human being....

Sometimes you feel he really hasn't felt the kind of competition in the world his talent deserves. I would have loved to see him perform against top quality cricketers of the previous generation. It would really have brought out the best in him.

Greame Pollock : 

Tendulkar is the best in the world at the moment. Why I've always liked him is that batsmen tend to be negative at times and I think batting is not about not getting out - it is to play positively. I think you got to take it to the bowlers and Sachin is one such player. When you do so, you change the game, you change bowlers because they suddenly start bowling badly because they are under pressure.

Ian Chappell :

Whenever I see Sachin play I am reminded of the Graeme Pollock quote of Cricket being a 'see the ball, hit the ball game.' He hits the ball as if it's there to be hit.

Ravi Shastri :

"We always knew that Sachin Tendulkar is a great cricketer, but after the Coca-Cola Cup here, we have seen the birth of a legend. I can't think of anybody who has batted more authoritatively in one day cricket for India, or even in the world except for Vivian Richards."

Navjot Sidhu :

"His mind is like a computer. He stores data on bowlers and knows where they are going to pitch the ball."

Mark Taylor :

"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin" - Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

Rahul Dravid :

Playing in the same team as Sachin is a huge honour. His balance of mind, shrewd judgement, modesty and, above all, his technical brilliance make him my all-time hero... You can't get a more complete cricketer than Sachin. He has everything that a cricketer needs to have.

As a batsman, he has the technique, the hunger and the desire for runs. He always contributes with the bat as well as on the field. He also is a good fielder and bowls when needs. You really can't ask for a better cricketer than Sachin... He is a terrific person and has handled pressure brilliantly. He has handled his success very well and doesn't have any airs about him. He is a great guy and very good team man. In his heart of hearts, he is a very simple and down to earth person.

Mohammad Azharuddin : 

The more I see him, the more I want to see him.

Sunil Gavaskar :

India's fortune will depend on how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing

Harsha Bhogle :

if sachin plays well..india sleeps well

Saurav Ganguly :

The thing I like most about Sachin is his intensity. After being in the game for so long, he still has the same desire to do well for India in any international match.I tell you what, this man is a legend.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth : (during 1998)

"He is the only match-winning batsman we have"

Arjuna Ranatunga :

"You get him out and half the battle is won"

Andy Flower:

There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.

Martin Crowe:

A flighted full toss on Leg stump by spinner. any other will play this shot on leg side by pull shot or glance or flick. but sachin made a space and played a perfect cover drive for four runs.
Martin Crowe (New Zealand's ever best bats man) said " the shot played on this ball is only possible for GOD Of CRICKET "

Rudy Kortzen

"I never get tired during umpiring whenever sachin is on crease"

Sunil Gavaskar

This was after a wonderful century by sachin(in england i guess in a test match..not sure)
Sunny: The other day i was just trying to think of a bowler who can go through sachin's defenses when sachin is in total defense. I am sorry but i could not think of even one name who could do that. If sachin decides he doesnt want to give away his wicket, he wont. be it any bowler in the world.
Cheers to Sachin...

Ricky Ponting

Ponting make comparisons btn sachin,Lara& jayasuriya.
Sachin is the best ever batsman in the world. He is brilliant in his technique. He is always hungry for runs.Sachin is better than Lara in his techniques & thats why he is No.1 among others.On his day,Lara wiil be more destructive. He is the only man 2 fight for west indies. Jayasuriya also played gr8 knocks 4 his team. But compared 2 them Sachin is the BEST

Pradeep Mandhani ..a Photographer

"Barely two hours after landing in Johannesburg on the 1992-93 tour to South Africa, the team was to visit Tolstoy Farm, Mahatma Gandhi's first Satyagrahi Commune founded in 1910. It was situated 35 kms from Jo'burg and most of the Indian players showed little interest, longing to rest in the hotel after the long flight. But Tendulkar, still a teenager, looked keen and hungry to learn more about Gandhi. His volley of questions to the guide reflected his national pride."

NKP Salve, former Union Minister

This was when he was accused of ball tempering

"Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It's clear discrimination."

Allan Donald

"In my several years of international cricket, Tendulkar remains the best batsman I have ever bowled to. It's been a pleasure to bowl at the master batsman even though one hasn't always emerged with credit from the engagements."

Allan Donald

"During our team meetings, we often speak about the importance of the first 12 balls to Tendulkar. If you get him then you can thank your stars, otherwise it could mean that tough times lie ahead."

Saurav Ganguly:

SACHIN MADE 9 CENTURIES IN ONE YEAR BUT MANY CRICKETER DIDNOT MAKE 9 CENTURIES IN THEIR WHOLE CARRIER.

Ricky Ponting:

"Sachin is the most complete batsman I have seen. His technique is so good and he has played well in all conditions. To have 41 one-day international tons shows what an appetite he has for scoring runs."

Harsha Bhogle:

There's no better sight on the cricket field than watch Tendulkar bat.

Rev David Shepherd :

"Sachin Tendulkar! If he isn't the best player in the world, I want to see the best player in the world".

Sunil Gavaskar back in 1988 to Tom Alter

I sat in the office of Sportsweek magazine with that same Sunil Gavaskar. Ayaz Memon and I were listening to Gavaskar in one of his rare, priceless moods. The ?Little Master? was delving deep into his own experience, his own genius, and bringing forth pearls of wisdom as sudden, and as effective, as his straight- drives back past the bowler. Then Gavaskar came up with the following statement (remember, this was in 1988, when Dilip Vengsarkar was about to become captain of India): "The two best batsmen in Bombay today are Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar." Full stop. End of statement. The ball crosses the boundary-line underneath the sight- screen.

Peter Roebuck
"On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!"

Andy Flower:
"There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others."

Allan Donald:
"Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has
many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the
world"

Viv Richards on Sachin Tendulkar
I think he is marvellous. I think he will fit in whatever category of Cricket that has been played or will be played, from the first ball that has ever been bowled to the last ball that's going to be. He can play in any era and at any level. I would say he's 99.5% perfect.

Navjot Singh Sidhu:
"India me aap Prime Minister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte.." (In India you can drag even the Prime Minister to the courtroom, but you can't dare think of pointing a wrong finger at Sachin Tendulkar)

Anil Kumble
"I am fortunate that I've to bowl at him only in the nets!"

Andrew Symonds
"To Sachin, the man we all want to be"
What Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin.

Mark Taylor:
"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin" -Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

Virender Sehwag:
"I felt proud, when he acknowledged I play like him, however when I watched the videos it was not exactly similar. I used to imitate him while playing & never really thought of playing along side him. He is the God of Cricket." - Virender Sehwag, after seeing Sachin almost convert an impossible target of 350 against Australians almost single-handedly.

Sunil Gavaskar: (on a reply to a Reporter)
"Are we seeing another Gavaskar in the making?Gavaskar replied very prophetically "you never know. the way he is batting you all may forget me, and, he may start an era of his own'[or words to that effect] - Sunil Gavaskar, 1988, Sachin is yet to play for India & stormed the Ranji Trophy with mountains of Runs at the age of 15.

Glenn McGrath:
I still think Tendulkar is the best batsmen in the world ahead of Steve Waugh and Brian Lara.

Brain Lara:
Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal. - Brian Charles Lara, the greatest Left Handed batsman the world has ever seen.

Saurav Ganguly:
I am fortunate to watch him Bat from the best place in the Stadium, as his Non-Striker. Obviously I could not relax to watch those innings, as he is quite famous for hitting those Straight Drives.  To me he will not just be remembered as a great player and a lovely human being, but as somebody who tried to learn Bengali for the last 14 years but never managed to do so! - Saurav Ganguly, the finest left handed batsman India has produced and among the Top 6 Batsmen in ODI listed by Wisden. Saurav holds the record of highest number of Runs, Century/Half-Century partnerships with Sachin while Opening the innings in ODI.

Andrew Symonds: (On the release of his Book 'Roy on the Rise')
It was like holding a Rolex watch and a Patek Phillipe watch and saying which one looks best . - Andrew Symonds on Sachin & Laxman batting together.

Matt Prior: (On the sledging episode)
That Porsche comment ... why would I say that to Tendulkar? He's got aeroplanes. He is the best Batsman in the world and I can't dare to sledge him with that. - England wicketkeeper Matt Prior says the infamous "I drive a Porsche, what car do you drive?" sledge to Sachin Tendulkar didn't happen.

Michael Atherton: (On the clean & sinless character of Sachin)
The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter ... As Matthew Parris wondered of Barack Obama in these pages recently, is he human?

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: (On reply to Sanjay Manjrekar's alleged comment)
Performance is one thing, performing back to back is something else. People may call him [Tendulkar] a sitting elephant, but he's the best. He never said a word, and wanted to let his bat do the talking. I have learnt a lot from him about handling the pressures like these, and I know these recent centuries in Finals while chasing is just another testimony to his greatness.

Shane Warne: (On 'Sledging doesn't work with all players')
With Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, it was better to be friends and make them smile rather than wind them up.

Adam Gilchrist: (While batting in his final Twenty20 in front of a packed MCG )
I now know what Sachin Tendulkar feels every time he bats in India. 

Hashim Amla: (On boarding a Flight after terror threat)
Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it. - Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight.

Shane Warne: (On the great players of his era)
Sachin Tendulkar is, in my time, the best player without doubt - daylight second, Brian Lara third. 

Yasir Hameed: (On dropping a Catch)
Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job. - Yasir Hameed, tries to zero in on the exact reason for dropping a vital catch in the third Test at Rawalpindi.

Daryl Tuffey: (On a temporary form dip of Sachin)
You can never say that he is out of form. He is a volcano waiting to explode and we hope he doesn't do that against us in the one-dayers. He is the greatest and there is no doubt about it.

Shahrukh Khan: (On paying tribute to the Maestro)
I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to breathe the same air as you do. - Shahrukh Khan, the famous Film star in India, is a die-hard fan of Sachin & pays tribute on Sachin's completion of 20 years in Internationa arena.

Martina Navratilova: (On watching the favourite Cricketer of Sydney)
Sachin was so focused. He never looked like getting out. He was batting with single-minded devotion. It was truly remarkable. It was a lesson. - Tennis legend Martina Navratilova joins the Sachin Tendulkar fan club after watching him bat at Sydney.

I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...hi compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel! in reference to Sachin Tendulkar.
- Sir Don Bradman

India's fortune will depend on how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing.
- Sunil Gavaskar

He has defined cricket in his fabulous, impeccable manner. He is to batting what Shane Warne is to bowling.
- Richie Benaud

He is Sachin Tendulkar. I hope he stays Sachin Tendulkar. We need a new player, a player in his own way. He has a technique which is the hallmark of a great player. Everything indicates that he will be a great player and I am sure he will prove me right. Reminds me of Barry Richards.
- Eddie Barlow

He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease.
- Greg Chappell

I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player.
- Shane Warne

Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives.
- BBC Sports, on Sachin Tendulkar

If I've to bowl to Sachin, I'll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard.
- Dennis Lillee

The pressure on me is nothing as compared to Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin, like God, must never fail. The crowd always expects him to succeed and it is too much pressure on him
- Mark Waugh

You might pitch a ball on the off stump and think you have bowled a good ball and he walks across and hits it for two behind midwicket. His bat looks so heavy but he just waves it around like it's a toothpick.
- Brett Lee, on Sachin Tendulkar's batting, 1999 

"Sachin is cricket's God"

- Barry Richards.

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"He is 99.5 per cent perfect. I'd pay to see him"

- Viv Richards.

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"I have seen God. He bats at number 4 for India"

- Mathew Hayden

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"There is no shame being beaten by such a great player, Sachin is perhaps only next to the Don"

- Steve Waugh.

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"I still think Tendulkar is the best batsmen in the world ahead of Steve Waugh and Lara"

- Glenn McGrath.

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"You take Don Bradman away and he is next up I reckon"

- Steve Waugh.

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"Cricketers like Sachin come once in a lifetime, and I am privileged he played in my time"

- Wasim Akram

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"Sachin Tendulkar is a genius. I'm a mere mortal"

- Brian Lara

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"Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours"

- Michael Kasprowicz.

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"It's scary, where the hell do we bowl to him"

- Allan Border.

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"Yeah mate, but that's with all great players"

- Ian Chappell.

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"He's better than Ben Hur"

- Paul Wilson.

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"There's no doubt about it. He is the best"

- Tony Grieg.

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"Technically, you can't fault Sachin. Seam or spin, fast or slow - nothing is a problem"

- Geoffrey Boycott.

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"Destined to be a great"

- Barry Richards.

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"You have to watch India in India truly to appreciate the pressure that Sachin Tendulkar is under every time he bats. Outside grounds, people wait until he goes in before paying to enter. They seem to want a wicket to fall even though it is their own side that will suffer"

- Shane Warne

Best One

Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the Lord Is watching.
-Placard at the SCG as Sachin was making his century,2008 January

I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...hi compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel! in reference to Sachin Tendulkar.
- Sir Don Bradman

India's fortune will depend on how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing.
- Sunil Gavaskar

He has defined cricket in his fabulous, impeccable manner. He is to batting what Shane Warne is to bowling.
- Richie Benaud

He is Sachin Tendulkar. I hope he stays Sachin Tendulkar. We need a new player, a player in his own way. He has a technique which is the hallmark of a great player. Everything indicates that he will be a great player and I am sure he will prove me right. Reminds me of Barry Richards.
- Eddie Barlow

He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease.
- Greg Chappell

I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player.
- Shane Warne

Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives.
- BBC Sports, on Sachin Tendulkar

If I've to bowl to Sachin, I'll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard.
- Dennis Lillee

The pressure on me is nothing as compared to Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin, like God, must never fail. The crowd always expects him to succeed and it is too much pressure on him
- Mark Waugh

You might pitch a ball on the off stump and think you have bowled a good ball and he walks across and hits it for two behind midwicket. His bat looks so heavy but he just waves it around like it's a toothpick.
- Brett Lee, on Sachin Tendulkar's batting, 1999

"Sachin is cricket's God"

- Barry Richards.

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"He is 99.5 per cent perfect. I'd pay to see him"

- Viv Richards.

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"I have seen God. He bats at number 4 for India"

- Mathew Hayden

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"There is no shame being beaten by such a great player, Sachin is perhaps only next to the Don"

- Steve Waugh.

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"I still think Tendulkar is the best batsmen in the world ahead of Steve Waugh and Lara"

- Glenn McGrath.

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"You take Don Bradman away and he is next up I reckon"

- Steve Waugh.

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"Cricketers like Sachin come once in a lifetime, and I am privileged he played in my time"

- Wasim Akram

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"Sachin Tendulkar is a genius. I'm a mere mortal"

- Brian Lara

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"Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours"

- Michael Kasprowicz.

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"It's scary, where the hell do we bowl to him"

- Allan Border.

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"Yeah mate, but that's with all great players"

- Ian Chappell.

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"He's better than Ben Hur"

- Paul Wilson.

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"There's no doubt about it. He is the best"

- Tony Grieg.

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"Technically, you can't fault Sachin. Seam or spin, fast or slow - nothing is a problem"

- Geoffrey Boycott.

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"Destined to be a great"

- Barry Richards.

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"You have to watch India in India truly to appreciate the pressure that Sachin Tendulkar is under every time he bats. Outside grounds, people wait until he goes in before paying to enter. They seem to want a wicket to fall even though it is their own side that will suffer"

- Shane Warne

Best One

Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the Lord Is watching.
-Placard at the SCG as Sachin was making his century,2008 January

Sachin Tendulkar on beating Pakistan in the World Cup 2003 (certain quotes are picked from that interview) 

And that is the reason why this victory is great, because different players have made contributions to the win.

At least with me, the match starts much, much earlier than the actual match.

Beating Pakistan is always special because they are a tough team and we have a bit of a history regarding Pakistan.

Before coming here I had a minor back problem and I thought whenever I play Pakistan I get a back problem.

But eventually it is a game of cricket.

Every individual has his own style, his own way of presenting himself on and off the field.

From the spinners, Anil and I have been together for a long time and I respect him a lot.

I always had a dream to play for India but I never let it put pressure on me.

I am not thinking too far ahead, just want to take it one thing at a time.

I believe every era has its significance and the same holds true for players and coaches.

I feel when somebody has been playing cricket for a long time, he creates a separate identity for himself.

I hate losing and cricket being my first love, once I enter the ground it's a different zone altogether and that hunger for winning is always there.

I have never believed in comparisons, whether they are about different eras, players or coaches.

I have never thought where I will go, or forced any targets on myself.

I have never tried to compare myself to anyone else.

I have played for 15 years and it has been a dream.

I just keep it simple. Watch the ball and play it on merit.

I just want to continue the way I am going.

I never played with a runner in my entire life, even in schools, because only I know where the ball is going and how hard, when I hit the ball, something my runner will never know about.

I want to give my six hours of serious cricket on the ground and then take whatever the result.

If one man is representing India in cricket, then yes, blame that person when things go wrong.

Isn't cricket supposed to be a team sport? I feel people should decide first whether cricket is a team game or an individual sport.

It doesn't always happen according to the way you have planned things out but I feel if you have covered most of the aspects, it does help out there in the middle.

It has been very good here, but the World Cup game was different. It had a different significance to it.

Lara's done very well recently and I never had any doubts about the abilities of Lara or Waugh.

My point of view is that when I am playing cricket I cannot think that this game is less or more important.

New Zealand's Daniel Vettori is a very good bowler.

Obviously after such a long gap, one itches to get back to the game and score big runs.

Shoaib Akhtar has been playing for 5, 6 years and is an experienced bowler.

The Australian tour was good for us; it was ideal preparation for us.

There are a few players who don't like to think about the game.

Wasim and Waqar were amazing bowlers. I would put them right up there with the best in the world.

When I was 15, I started playing first class cricket and always dreamt of being a Test cricketer, wanted to do something for the country, married in 1995, have 2 kids it's been great.

When there is time to think about cricket, I think but when there is time to be with family, I try to do justice to that aspect of my life as well.