Early tours Raj Singh Dungarpur is credited for the selection of Tendulkar for the
Indian tour of Pakistan in late 1989, after one first class season. The Indian selection committee had shown interest in selecting Tendulkar for the
tour of the West Indies held earlier that year, but eventually did not select him, as they did not want him to be exposed to the dominant fast bowlers of the West Indies so early in his career. Tendulkar was the youngest player to debut for India in
Tests at the age of 16 years and 205 days, he made his ODI debut for India at the age of 16 years and 238 days, playing against Pakistan in
Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala. Tendulkar made his
Test debut against Pakistan in
Karachi in November 1989 aged 16 years and 205 days. He scored 15 runs, being bowled by
Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match. He was noted for how he handled numerous blows to his body at the hands of the Pakistani pace attack. In the fourth and final Test match in
Sialkot, he was hit on the nose by a bouncer bowled by Younis, but he declined medical assistance and continued to bat even as he his nose gushed blood. In a 20-over exhibition game in
Peshawar, held in parallel with the bilateral series, Tendulkar made 53 runs off 18 balls, including an over in which he scored 27 runs bowled by leg-spinner
Abdul Qadir. This was later called "one of the best innings I have seen" by the then Indian captain
Krishnamachari Srikkanth. In all, Tendulkar scored 215 runs at an average of 35.83 in the Test series, and was dismissed without scoring a run in the only
One Day International (ODI) he played. The series was followed by a tour of New Zealand in which he scored 117 runs at an average of 29.25 in Tests. He was dismissed without scoring in one of the two ODI games he played, and scored 36 in the other. On a 1990 tour to England, on 14 August, he became the second-youngest cricketer to score a Test century as he made 119 not out in the second Test at
Old Trafford in Manchester. Tendulkar's reputation grew during the 1991–92 tour of Australia held before the
1992 Cricket World Cup. During the tour, he scored an unbeaten 148 in the third Test at
Sydney, making him the youngest batsman to score a century in Australia. He then scored 114 on a fast, bouncing pitch in the final Test at
Perth against a pace attack from
Merv Hughes,
Bruce Reid, and
Craig McDermott. Hughes commented to
Allan Border at the time that "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB." This was an innings hailed by Wisden as one that “changed ODI cricket forever.” He scored his first ODI century on 9 September 1994 against Australia in
Sri Lanka at
Colombo, in his 79th ODI. Tendulkar's rise continued when he was the leading run scorer at the
1996 World Cup with 523 runs, scoring two centuries and three fifties. He was the only Indian batsman to perform well in the semi-final against Sri Lanka, scoring 65 runs out of 120 for India. Tendulkar fell amid a batting collapse After the World Cup, in the same year against Pakistan at
Sharjah, Indian captain
Mohammed Azharuddin was going through a lean patch. Tendulkar and
Navjot Singh Sidhu both made centuries to set a then record partnership for the second wicket. After getting out, Tendulkar found Azharuddin in two minds about whether he should bat. Tendulkar convinced Azharuddin to bat and Azharuddin subsequently unleashed 24 runs off one over. India went on to win that match. It enabled India to post a score in excess of 300 runs for the first time in an ODI.
1998: Australian competition Tendulkar scored 143 (131) runs in Sharjah against the Australian team in the
1998 Coca-Cola cup, including 5
sixes in an innings against
Shane Warne,
Damien Fleming and
Michael Kasprowicz. The innings is known as the "Desert Storm" because it was interrupted by a
sand storm. In 2020, a poll from the
ICC declared it Tendulkar's best ODI innings. In early 1998, when Australia toured India, Tendulkar scored 155*, 79 and 177 in 3 consecutive innings. The focus of the tour was the clash between Tendulkar and
spinner Shane Warne, both at the peak of their careers. In the lead-up to the series, Tendulkar simulated scenarios in the nets with
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. In their tour opener, Australia faced Mumbai at the
Brabourne Stadium in a three-day first class match. Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 204 runs as Shane Warne conceded 111 runs in 16 overs and Australia lost the match within three days. Tendulkar dominated Warne in the test series. Tendulkar finished with 446 runs at an average of 111.50 and conceded his wicket to Warne only once on five occasions. Warne on the other hand took ten wickets in the series but they cost him 54 runs apiece. with India winning the series 2-1. Tendulkar also had a role with the ball in the five-match ODI series in India following the Tests, including a five wicket haul in an ODI in
Kochi. Set 310 runs to win,
Australia were cruising at 203 for 3 in the 31st over when Tendulkar turned the match for India, taking the wickets of
Michael Bevan,
Steve Waugh,
Darren Lehmann,
Tom Moody and
Damien Martyn for 32 runs in 10 overs. The Test match success was followed by two consecutive centuries in April 1998 in a Triangular cricket
tournament in Sharjah—the first in a must-win game to take India to the finals and then again in the finals, both against Australia. These twin knocks were also known as the
Desert Storm innings. Following the series, Warne ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis. Tendulkar's great all-round performance in the ICC 1998 quarterfinal at
Dhaka paved the way for India's entry into the semifinals, when he took four Australian wickets after scoring 141 runs in 128 balls. He was declared the player of the match.
1999: Asian Test Championship, Test matches, and the World Cup The inaugural
Asian Test Championship took place in
February and March 1999, involving India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Around 100,000 attended the first four days of the tournament, breaking a 63-year-old record for aggregate Test attendance record. In the first match, between India and Pakistan at
Eden Gardens, Tendulkar was dismissed from the match after colliding with Pakistan bowler
Shoaib Akhtar. The crowd reacted by throwing objects at Akhtar, and the players were taken off the field. The match resumed after Tendulkar and the
president of the ICC appealed to the crowd; however, further rioting meant that the match was finished in front of a crowd of 200 people. Tendulkar scored his 19th Test century in the second Test and the match resulted in a draw with Sri Lanka. India did not progress to the final, which was won by Pakistan, and refused to participate in the
2001–02 Asian Test Championship due to increasing political tensions
between India and Pakistan. In a Test match against Pakistan at
Chepauk (Chennai) in 1999, the first of a two-Test series, Tendulkar scored 136 runs on a deteriorating track against a strong Pakistan attack comprising Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq and a young Shahid Afridi, while battling back spams. India however lost the match by 12 runs as the last 3 wickets fell for just 4 runs. Wisden: "This innings was voted No.5 in Wisden’s Test innings of the decade in our 1990s in Review series". Tendulkar's father, Ramesh Tendulkar, died during the
1999 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against
Zimbabwe. He returned to the World Cup, scoring a century (140 not out of 101 balls) in his very next match against
Kenya in Bristol. He dedicated the century to his father.
Captaincy of national team Tendulkar's two tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. Tendulkar became captain in 1996, but by 1997 the team was performing poorly. Discussing Tendulkar's first term as captain,
Azharuddin was credited with saying, "He won't win! It's not in the small one's destiny!" () Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were beaten 3–0 by the newly crowned world champions. Tendulkar won the player of the series award, After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0–2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and
Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.
South Africa match fixing In 2000, members of the South African national team attempted to
fix matches during their visit to India. After the incident, Tendulkar and three other senior cricketers worked to ensure that players "whose performance and conduct was dubious were never picked for the Indian squad again".
Role in 2007 captaincy change During the Indian team's 2007 tour of England, the desire of
Rahul Dravid to resign from the captaincy became known. Then
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
President Sharad Pawar offered the captaincy to Tendulkar, who instead recommended
Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Pawar later revealed this conversation, crediting Tendulkar for suggesting Dhoni, who since achieved much success as captain.
Continued rise 2001–02: Mike Denness incident, Australia test series, and breaking Bradman's record During India's 2001 tour of South Africa, in the second Test match, referee
Mike Denness fined four Indian players for excessive appealing, and fined the Indian captain
Sourav Ganguly for not controlling his team. Denness suspended Tendulkar from one match for alleged
ball tampering. Television cameras captured images that suggested Tendulkar may have been involved in cleaning the seam of the cricket ball. The incident escalated to include sports journalists accusing Denness of racism, and led to Denness being barred from entering the venue of the third Test match. The ICC revoked the status of the match as a Test as the teams rejected the appointed referee. The charges against Tendulkar triggered a massive backlash from the Indian public. When Australia toured India in 2001, in the first test at
Mumbai, Tendulkar scored 76 and 65, with no one else from India crossing 50. India ended up losing the test. On the final day of the 2nd test, the famous
Kolkata Test against Australia in 2001, Tendulkar took three wickets, including the key wickets of
Matthew Hayden and
Adam Gilchrist, who were centurions in the previous Test. His three wickets haul helped India win the match. In the 3rd test at
Chennai, Tendulkar top scored for India with 126 helping the team to get to a total of 501. India would go on to win the test match narrowly by just 2 wickets and clinch the test series 2-1. This series is regarded as one of the greatest series of the century. In the five-match ODI series that followed, Tendulkar once again had a successful series scoring 280 runs at an average of 56 and strike rate of 120.17. He also took his 100th wicket in ODIs, claiming the wicket of then Australian captain
Steve Waugh in the final match at the
Fatorda Stadium in
Goa. In the 2002 series in the West Indies, Tendulkar started well, scoring 79 in the first Test. In the second Test at Port of Spain, Sachin Tendulkar scored 117 in the first innings, his 29th Test century in his 93rd Test match, to equal
Donald Bradman's record of 29 Test hundreds. He was gifted a Ferrari 360 Modena by Fiat through
Michael Schumacher for achieving this feat. Then, in an unprecedented sequence, he scored just 0, 0, 8, and 0 in the next four innings. He returned to form in the last Test scoring 41 and 86, one half century. However, India lost the series. Tendulkar had a successful series in England in 2002, scoring 401 runs in 6 innings at an average of 66.83. In the third Test match of this series in August 2002 at
Headingley,
Leeds, Tendulkar scored his 30th Test century (193) to surpass Bradman's haul, in his 99th Test match. India won this test match and the 4-match series ended up drawn 1-1.
2003: Cricket World Cup Tendulkar made 673 runs in 11 matches in the
2003 Cricket World Cup, helping India reach the final. While Australia won, Tendulkar was given the Man of the Tournament award. He continued to score heavily in ODI cricket that year, with two hundreds in a tri-series involving New Zealand and Australia. As a part-time bowler, he dismissed an exhausted centurion, Matthew Hayden, in the tri-series final.
2003–04: Tour of Australia The drawn series as
India toured Australia in 2003–04 saw Tendulkar making his mark in the last Test of the series, scoring 241 not out from 436 balls with 33 fours at a strike rate of 55.27 in
Sydney, putting India in a virtually unbeatable position. He spent 613 minutes at the crease during the innings. He followed this up with an unbeaten 60 in the second innings of the Test. Prior to this Test match, he had scored only 82 runs in 5 innings in the first 3 tests of the series. It was no aberration that 2003 was his worst year in Test cricket, with an average of 17.00 and just one fifty. Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 194 against Pakistan at
Multan in the following series. Indian captain Rahul Dravid declared before Tendulkar reached 200; had he done so it would have been the fourth time he had passed the landmark in Tests. Tendulkar said that he was disappointed and that the declaration had taken him by surprise. Many former cricketers commented that Dravid's declaration was in bad taste. After the match, which India won, Dravid said that the matter had been discussed internally and put to rest. A
tennis elbow injury then took its toll on Tendulkar, leaving him out of the team for most of the year, coming back only for the last two Tests when
Australia toured India in 2004. He played a part in India's victory in Mumbai in that series with an attacking 55, though Australia took the series 2–1.
Performance dip 2005–06: Dry spell On 10 December 2005 at
Feroz Shah Kotla, Tendulkar scored his record-breaking 35th Test century, against the
Sri Lankans. After this, Tendulkar endured the longest spell of his career without a Test century: 17 innings elapsed before he scored 101 against Bangladesh in May 2007. Tendulkar scored his 39th ODI hundred on 6 February 2006 in a match against Pakistan. He followed with a 42 in the second One-Day International against Pakistan on 11 February 2006, and then a 95 in hostile, seaming conditions on 13 February 2006 in Lahore, which set up an Indian victory. On 19 March 2006, after being dismissed for only one run against
England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground,
Wankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd. Tendulkar ended the three-Test series without a half-century to his credit, and the need for a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity. Tendulkar's comeback came in the DLF cup in
Malaysia and he was the only Indian batsman to shine. In his comeback match, against West Indies on 14 September 2006, Tendulkar responded to his critics who believed that his career was inexorably sliding with his 40th ODI century. Though he scored 141 not out, West Indies won the rain-affected match by the
D/L method.
2007 Cricket World Cup During the preparation for the
2007 World Cup, Tendulkar's attitude was criticised by Indian coach
Greg Chappell. Chappell reportedly felt that Tendulkar would be more useful down the order, while Tendulkar felt that he would be better off opening the innings, the role he had played for most of his career. Chappell also believed that Tendulkar's repeated failures were hurting the team's chances. In a rare show of emotion, Tendulkar hit out at the comments attributed to Chappell by pointing out that no coach had ever suggested his attitude towards cricket was incorrect. On 7 April 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India issued a notice to Tendulkar asking for an explanation for his comments made to the media. Chappell subsequently resigned as coach but said that this affair had no bearing on his decision and that he and Tendulkar were on good terms. As a result, former Australian captain
Ian Chappell, brother of Greg, called for Tendulkar to retire in his newspaper column. After the loss against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Tendulkar suffered depression and thought to retire from cricket, but Viv Richards and Ajit Tendulkar stopped him. According to Tendulkar, 23 March 2007, the loss against Bangladesh is one of the worst days of his cricketing career.
Return to old form and consistency 2007 In 2007, in a Test series during India's tour of Bangladesh, Tendulkar returned to his opening slot and was chosen as the Man of the Series. He continued by scoring 99 and 93 in the first two matches of the Future Cup against South Africa. During the second match, he also became the first to score 15,000 runs in ODIs. He was the leading run scorer and was adjudged the Man of the Series. in 2008, where he finished
not out on 154 On the second day of the Nottingham Test on 28 July 2007, Tendulkar became the third cricketer to complete 11,000 Test runs. In the subsequent one-day series against England, Tendulkar was the leading run scorer from India with an average of 53.42. In the ODI Series against Australia in October 2007 Tendulkar was the leading Indian run scorer with 278 runs. Tendulkar was dismissed five times in 2007 between 90 and 100, including three times at 99, leading some to suggestions that he struggles to cope with nervousness in this phase of his innings. Tendulkar has got out 27 times in the 90s during his international career. In a five-ODI series against Pakistan, he was caught by
Kamran Akmal off the bowling of
Umar Gul for 99 in the second match at
Mohali, and in the fourth match of that series, he got out in the 90s for a second time, scoring 97 before dragging a delivery from Gul on to his stumps.
2007–08: Tour of Australia In 2008 India's tour of Australia, at a Sydney Test match, Australian
Andrew Symonds accused Indian
Harbhajan Singh of using racist terminology by calling him a monkey. This matter was dubbed "
Monkeygate" by the media. Singh was suspended by the match ICC referee after a hearing. Sachin Tendulkar was standing at the non-striker's end at the moment when Symonds claimed the racist comments were made. In the hearing, Tendulkar said to the ICC match referee
Mike Procter, that he could not say what exactly Singh said to Symonds, but in the next hearing, Tendulkar changed his stance and said that Symonds had not said "monkey" but "
Teri Maa Ki..." ('Your mother's...'). In his autobiography
Playing It My Way, Tendulkar wrote, "
Teri Maa Ki..., It is an expression we often use in
North India to vent our anger and to me it all part of the game". The matter became big in the following days and nearly led to the cancellation of this tour. The referee suspended Singh for 3 Tests but after appeal and Tendulkar's statement in the hearing the suspension was overturned. Andrew Symonds later said in
Monkeygate- Ten years on, a documentary that was based on this matter, "When I began to play for Mumbai Indians, IPL franchise, once Harbhajan Singh came to me and apologised." Symonds said in the documentary, "We go to a very wealthy man's place for a barbecue, drinks, and dinner one night, and the whole team's there, and he had guests there, and Harbhajan said 'mate, can I speak to you for a minute out in the garden out the front?' He goes, 'look, I've got to say sorry to you for what I did to you in Sydney. I apologise." In the
Border–Gavaskar Trophy, 2007–08, Tendulkar showed exceptional form, becoming the leading run scorer with "493 runs in four Tests, despite consistently failing in the second innings. Tendulkar scored 62 runs in the first innings of the first Test at the
MCG in
Melbourne, but could not prevent a heavy 337-run win for Australia. In the
controversial New Years' Test at Sydney, Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 154, even though India lost the Test. This was his third century at the
SCG and his 38th Test century overall, earning him an average of 326 at the ground at the time of completing the innings. In the third Test at the
WACA cricket ground in
Perth, Tendulkar was instrumental in India's first innings score of 330, scoring a well-compiled 71. India went on to record a historic triumph at the WACA, ending Australia's run of 16 consecutive wins. In the fourth Test at the
Adelaide Oval, which ended in a draw, he scored 153 in the first innings, being involved in a crucial 126-run stand with
VVS Laxman for the fifth wicket to lead India to a score of 282 for 5 from 156 for 4. He secured the Man of the Match award. In the One-Day International Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series involving India, Sri Lanka and Australia, Tendulkar became the only batsman to complete 16,000 runs in ODIs. He achieved this feat against Sri Lanka on 5 February 2008 at the
Gabba in
Brisbane. He started the series with scores of 10, 35, 44 and 32. His form dipped a bit in the middle of the tournament with scores of 5,0 and 2, but Tendulkar came back strongly in India's must-win game against Sri Lanka at the
Bellerive Oval in
Hobart, scoring 63 off 54 balls. He finished the series with a match winning 117 not out off 120 balls in the first final, and 91 runs in the second final. Both the knocks were nominated to be the ODI Batting Performance of the year by ESPNcricinfo.
2008: Return to Tests and breaking Brian Lara's record South Africa toured in
March and April 2008 for a three-Test series. Tendulkar scored a five-ball duck in his only innings of the series; he sustained a groin strain in the match and as a result was forced not only to miss the second and third Tests, but also the tri-series involving Bangladesh, the
2008 Asia Cup, and the first half of the inaugural season of the
IPL. Before the
Indian cricket team's tour of Sri Lanka in July 2008, Tendulkar needed 177 runs to go past Brian Lara's record of Test 11,953 runs. However, he failed in all six innings, scoring a total of 95 runs. India lost the series and his average of 15.83 was his worst in a Test series with at least three matches. In the following ODI series against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar was sidelined due to injury. However, during the following Australia tour of India, he returned to fitness and form, scoring 13 and 49 in the first Test before making 88 in the first innings of the second Test, breaking the record for most Test runs held by Brian Lara. He also reached the 12,000-run mark when he was on 61. He described the achievement as the biggest in 19 years of his career on the day he achieved the record. He made a fifty in the third Test and 109 in the fourth, as India won the series 2–0 and regained the Border–Gavaskar Trophy.
2008: England Series Tendulkar was again out of the first three ODIs of a seven-match ODI series at home against England due to an injury, but he made 11 in the fourth ODI and 50 in the fifth, before the series was called off due to the
2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, the scoreline being 5–0 to India. England returned for a two-match Test series in December 2008, and the first Test, which was originally planned to be held in Mumbai, was shifted to Chennai following the terror attacks. This was his third century in the fourth innings of a Test match, and the first which resulted in a win. He dedicated this century to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks. The knock was nominated to be one of the Test Batting Performance of the year by ESPNcricinfo. Tendulkar called this his most meaningful knock. Tendulkar scored poorly in the second Test at
Mohali, which ended in a draw. India won the series 1–0.
2009–10: Consolidation and ODI record In early 2009, India revisited Sri Lanka for five ODIs, as the Pakistan series had been cancelled due to the security situation in Pakistan and the attacks in Mumbai. Tendulkar scored 5, 6 and 7 in the first three matches, being dismissed
leg before wicket in all of them, and did not play in the remaining two matches. India's next assignment was an away series against New Zealand, consisting of three Tests and five ODIs. In the ODI series, Tendulkar made an unbeaten 163 in the third match before stomach cramps forced him to end his innings. India made 392, won the match and eventually won the series 3–1. Tendulkar made 160 in the first Test, his 42nd Test century, and India won. He made 49 and 64 in the second Test and 62 and 9 in the third, in which play was halted on the last day due to rain with India needing only two wickets to win. India won the series 1–0. Tendulkar rested himself for the ODI tour of West Indies, but was back for the Compaq Cup Tri Series between India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand in early September 2009. He made 46 and 27 in the league matches before notching up 138 in the final, as India made 319 and won by 46 runs. This was Tendulkar's sixth century in a final of an ODI tournament and his third consecutive score of over 50 in such finals. Tendulkar played only one innings in the ICC Champions trophy in South Africa, scoring 8 against Pakistan as India lost. The next match against Australia was abandoned due to rain and he was out with a stomach infection in the third match against the West Indies, as India were eliminated. Australia returned for a seven-match ODI series in India in October, and Tendulkar made 14, 4, 32 and 40 in the first four games. In the fifth match, with the series tied at 2–2, Australia amassed 350/4 in 50 overs. Tendulkar made his 45th ODI hundred, a 175 off 141 balls. Just when it seemed that he would steer India to the large victory target, he tried to scoop a slower delivery from debutant bowler
Clint McKay over short fine leg only to be caught by
Nathan Hauritz, with India needing 19 runs to win with 18 balls and four wickets left. The Indian tail collapsed, and Australia won the match by three runs. During this match, Tendulkar also became the first player to reach 17,000 ODI runs, and achieved his personal best against Australia, as well as the third-highest score in a defeat. The knock was voted as the Best ODI Batting Performance of 2009 by ESPNcricinfo. In the five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2009–10, Tendulkar scored 69, 43, 96 not out and 8 in the first four matches, with the fifth match being abandoned as the pitch was deemed unfit and potentially dangerous. India won the series 3–1. In the Test series that followed, he scored a 100 not out in the first Test, which was drawn, and 40 and 53 in the second and third Tests, respectively, as India clinched innings victories in both the Tests, to win the series 2–0. Tendulkar rested himself for the ODI tri-series in Bangladesh in 2010, but played in the subsequent Test series. He made 105 not out and 16 in the first Test, and 143 in the second. India won both the Tests. In the
two-Test Series against South Africa, Tendulkar made 7 and 100 in the first Test. He then scored 106 in the first innings of the second Test, which was his 47th hundred in Test cricket. It was also his fourth hundred in successive Tests, and he was the fourth Indian to achieve this feat. In the second match of the subsequent ODI series, Tendulkar scored 200 not out, becoming the world's first batsman to score a double century in ODI cricket and breaking the previous highest score of 194 jointly held by Pakistan's
Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's
Charles Coventry.
2011–12: World Cup win and final years From February to April, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka hosted the
2011 World Cup. Amassing 482 runs at an average of 53.55 including two centuries, Tendulkar was India's leading run-scorer for the tournament; only
Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka scored more runs, and was named in the ICC "Team of the Tournament". India defeated Sri Lanka in the final. Shortly after the victory, Tendulkar commented that "Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. ... I couldn't control my tears of joy." India were due to tour the West Indies in June, although Tendulkar chose not to participate. He returned to the squad in July for India's
tour of England. Throughout the tour there was much hype in the media about whether Tendulkar would reach his 100th century in international cricket (Test and ODIs combined). However, his highest score in the Tests was 91; Tendulkar averaged 34.12 in the series as England won 4–0 as they deposed India as the No. 1 ranked Test team. The injury Tendulkar sustained to his right foot in 2001 flared up and as a result he was ruled out of the ODI series that followed. For his performances in 2011, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.
Ian Chappell was not happy with Tendulkar's performance after India's tour of Australia. He says that Tendulkar's quest for his 100th hundred has proved to be a hurdle for the entire team and has hampered their performance on the Tour of Australia. Former India World Cup winning captain and all-rounder Kapil Dev has also voiced his opinion that Tendulkar should have retired from ODI's after the World Cup. Former Australian fast bowler, Geoff Lawson, has said that Tendulkar has the right to decide when to quit although he adds that Tendulkar should not delay it for too long. The selection committee of BCCI expectedly included Tendulkar in the national Test squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand commencing in August 2012.
100th international century On 16 March 2012, Tendulkar accomplished a remarkable feat by scoring his 100th international century in a match against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup, held at Mirpur. This was a pioneering achievement, as he became the first cricketer to ever reach this landmark. This century was not just a momentous occasion for Tendulkar, but it was also his first ODl century against Bangladesh. Despite the widespread media attention and public fascination with this milestone, Tendulkar confessed that it was a challenging time for him, as the constant focus on his 100th hundred became a mentally onerous task. Despite Tendulkar's illustrious century, India was unable to secure a triumph against Bangladesh, resulting in a defeat by a margin of 5 wickets.
Domestic return After being bowled out in three similar instances against New Zealand and hitting a slump in form, Tendulkar returned to the Ranji Trophy to get back some form ahead of the England Series at home. In a match for Mumbai against Railways on 2 November 2012. This was his first Ranji Trophy match since 2009. He scored 137 off 136 balls, with 21 fours and 3 sixes, to take his team to 344 for 4 at stumps on day one. However, because of a poor form in the first two Tests in the series against England, and India being humiliated in the second match of that series by 10 wickets on 26 November 2012, some people have started to question his place in the Indian team. A report by
The Hindustan Times said that Tendulkar had a discussion with the national chief selector
Sandeep Patil, in which he said that he would leave it to the selectors to decide on his future as he is not getting any runs. This speculation, however, was later considered to be false. Then he decided to play in the knockout stage of the
2012–13 Ranji Trophy. He scored 108 in the quarter-final against
Baroda before being bowled by
Murtuja Vahora, where Tendulkar was involved in a 234-run partnership with opener
Wasim Jaffer (150) for the 3rd wicket at
Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai eventually piled on 645/9 and won on 1st innings lead. In the semi-final against
Services at Palam A Ground, with
Mumbai reeling at 23/3, Tendulkar scored 56 from 75 balls and had an 81-run 4th wicket partnership with
Abhishek Nayar (70), and Mumbai eventually won on 1st innings lead after the match went into the sixth day due to rain delays. In the final against
Saurashtra, he was run out for 22 following a misunderstanding with
Wasim Jaffer. Mumbai eventually won the Ranji Trophy 2012–13. He also played in the
Irani Trophy for Mumbai, where he scored 140* against Rest of India and helped
Mumbai to score 409 in reply to Rest of India's 526. This was also his 81st hundred in first-class cricket, equalling
Sunil Gavaskar's Indian record for most first-class hundreds.
Retirement (He is seen wearing a hat.) After a series of underwhelming performances during the 2012 series against England, Tendulkar announced his departure from One Day International cricket on 23 December 2012. However, he stated that he would continue to be available for representation in the Test format of the sport. Upon the announcement of his retirement from One Day International cricket, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly expressed his surprise, noting that Tendulkar could have still participated in the upcoming series against Pakistan. Anil Kumble reflected on the difficulty of imagining an Indian ODI team without Tendulkar's name, while
Javagal Srinath acknowledged the transformative impact Tendulkar had on the game, starting from the time he debuted as an opener in New Zealand in 1994. After playing a
Twenty20 International in 2006 against South Africa, he said that he would not play the format again. He announced his retirement from the IPL after his team,
Mumbai Indians, beat
Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 26 May to win the
Indian Premier League 2013. He retired from Twenty20 cricket and limited-overs cricket, after playing the
2013 Champions League Twenty20 in September–October 2013 in India for Mumbai Indians. On 10 October 2013 Tendulkar announced that he would retire from all cricket after the
two-Test series against West Indies in November. At his request, the BCCI arranged that the two matches be played at Kolkata and Mumbai so that the farewell would happen at his home ground. He scored 74 runs in his last Test innings against West Indies, thus failing short by 79 runs to complete 16,000 runs in Test cricket, the next man to bat after him was the future captain
Virat Kohli. The
Cricket Association of Bengal and the
Mumbai Cricket Association organised events to mark his retirement from the sport. Various national and international figures from cricket, politics, Bollywood and other fields spoke about him in a day-long
Salaam Sachin Conclave organised by
India Today.
Post-retirement In July 2014, he captained the MCC team in the
Bicentenary Celebration match at
Lord's. In December 2014, he was announced ambassador of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 event. It is his second term as he has already held the ambassador of the previous ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. He got the ambassador position of the ICC Cricket world cup in consecutive terms of the cricket world cup (2011 and 2015).
Exhibition and charity matches Tendulkar organised exhibition cricket matches in partnership with former Aussie cricketer
Shane Warne.
Cricket All-Stars held in US in
baseball stadiums and had retired players, some of them was Sourav Ganguly,
Shoaib Akhtar,
Wasim Akram. On 8 February 2020, he played in the
Bushfire Cricket Bash, a charity match organised to raise fund for
Australian bushfire victims. He captained the India legends team to victory in the 2020–21 Road Safety World Series and was the leading run scorer for the Indian team in the tournament. He acted as a coach for the Ponting XI during
The Big Appeal. During the innings break, he batted an over against
Ellyse Perry and
Annabel Sutherland at Perry's request. == Indian Premier League ==