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1. He should have been in school: Ambrose
Former West Indian fast bowler Curtly Ambrose had bowled a good deal against Tendulkar. His first sighting of Tendulkar was in early 1990s in England. Let's listen to the Antiguan.
"The first time I saw Tendulkar he was a youngster. I played against him in the 1992 World Cup. I knew he had talent and he would be a great cricketer. But the first time I saw him play was in England. I was playing county cricket then and I saw him play a Test match against England. I was telling myself: ‘what is this boy doing here, he should be in school, not playing Test cricket.
"But then again I said to myself, no he is something special, at that age. So, I was not surprised that he scored all these runs. When I played against him in the World Cup, I was the senior player so I have to make sure that I stamp that out early on. But a really wonderful player."
2. The memories of first room-mate
Former India and Mumbai batsman Suru Nayak was the first room-mate of Tendulkar when Mumbai played Saurashtra in a Ranji Trophy match at Rajkot in 1988.
"He was just about 15 then. Even at that age, the boy has something special in him. He was very shy. So, shy he was, in fact, Sachin was even reluctant to sign autographs and often called us seniors to be with him. There were lot of people who came to see the match and Sachin, who was by then known as a prodigy who are about to play for India. It came true when he made his international debut a year later. But none of us thought he will climb such heights and amass all these records. And one thing about Sachin is that he maintains his friendship. He likes to hang around with his old mates from school, maidans (grounds in Mumbai) etc and have some fun," he said.
3. A friend from Sharadashram
Mandar Phadke, the former Mumbai batsman and junior selector, had seen Tendulkar from a very young age, right from his school days at Sharadashram, the institution that rose to fame after that big stand between Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli.
"Dedication. It is the single biggest factor in Tendulkar's rise. He achieved a lot of things in his life but remained dedicated to cricket, nothing could take his focus away. During our school days, (Ramakant) Achrekar sir had to drag him out of nets as he wanted to bat on forever. He will relax with us for sometime over a snack and share jokes but soon you will find him at nets again. He life was and even now it is all about cricket," he said.
4. Tendulkar the philanthropist
Tendulkar is one of the richest sportspersons around. Even after the arrival of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, the brand Tendulkar is strong and still markets several products. But he is a contributor to society too and engages himself in charity in many ways.
"Sachin always has been kind to others. Even amid all the busy schedule, he never misses a chance to help others in whatever way he can. Once he became Rajya Sabha MP, he called me and asked way to use MP's funds for the betterment of society. Then there was him adopting a village down South (Andhra) and he pursues all these targets with earnestness. For him charity work is as important as cricket," said Rajiv Shukla, former BCCI vice-president, IPL GC member and Congress MP.
