26 Yrs Since His Debut, Here’s What Greats Have Said About Sachin

On his 42nd Birthday, The Quint puts together some of the things people have said about The Master.

26 years back, on this very day, a young 16-year-old made his International debut. Sachin Tendulkar went on to become on of the greatest cricketers to ever grace the sport.

On the occasion of the anniversary of his debut, The Quint puts together some of the things his team-mates, his rivals, his fans and most importantly, his wife has said about him over the years.

Scroll down for more. But we can tell you already, friend or foe - there is no hating Sachin

“I saw him playing on TV, I felt that this player is playing with a style similar to mine”

- Sir Donald Bradman

“I don’t eat. I don’t answer phones. I don’t even move when Sachin is batting.”

- Anjali Tendulkar

“Sachin is a genius. I’m a mere mortal”

- Brian Lara

“To me he will be remembered as somebody who tried to learn Bengali for the last 14 years but never managed to do so!”

- Sourav Ganguly

“India has produced many great cricketers but Sachin is Sachin. He is one and only in his generation. For me, he is the real Bharat Ratna for years. Whatever he has done for the country, very few people can do.”

- Lata Mangeshkar

“I had to remind Gary Kristen often that he was in the covers to field against Sachin not to applaud him.”

- Hansie Cronje

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

- Andy Flower

“Nothing bad can happen to us if we’re on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it.”

- Hashim Amla

“When you bowl at him you are not just trying to get him out, you are trying to impress him.”

- Andrew Flintoff

“He has been in form longer than some of our guys have been alive”

- Daniel Vettori

“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?”

- Michael Atherton

“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

In the IPL, when Sachin drove Ishant Sharma to a straight drive, he said – “Open the text book… turn to page number 32.”

- Harsha Bhogle