The Indian batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, has turned 44 today. Also known as the ‘God of Cricket’, Tendulkar played cricket at the highest level for 24 years. With 34,357 runs under his belt across formats, Tendulkar is at the top of the tree when it comes to batting. Talk of the batting records in the game of cricket and you will find his name in almost all of them.

Tendulkar played his first test match against Pakistan at Karachi in 1989. In the following month, he was handed his ODI cap against the same opposition in Gujranwala. Tendulkar played his last ODI again against Pakistan at Dhaka in 2012 during the Asia Cup. He ended up playing the most number of ODIs in the history of the game, 463. At an average of 44.86 and a strike rate of 86.23, Tendulkar has amassed 18,426 runs in the format.

He played his last test match against West Indies at Mumbai in 2013. In test matches, he has scored 15,921 runs in 200 test matches at an average of 53.78. He was part of the Indian team when it played its first T20I against South Africa in 2006. His ability was not just limited to the batting department. During the tenure of his international career, Tendulkar also grabbed 201 wickets across formats. He is also the only batsman to have scored 100 international centuries.

Tendulkar still has the same fan following like he had during his playing days. He is currently associated with the Indian Premier League franchise, Mumbai Indians, as its mentor. He has recently started his digital life with an application known as ‘100MB’.

Wishing him a very Happy 44th Birthday and much more to come!