Salute to God of Cricket

Even on first day of his International cricket, Competitors admired him and they continue to do so even today :)

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Few quotations of other cricketers on Sachin: (Tell me which one is your favorite ?) (Did I miss any?)

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"He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also."

-Waqar Younis, former Pakistan fast bowler.

“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 TV sets and switch off their lives."

-British broadcasting corporation (BBC).

"Sometimes, you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job."

-Yasir Hameed, former Pakistan batsman, trying to explain why he dropped a catch off Sachin in a test at Rawalpindi.

"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it."

-Hashim Amla, South African cricketer, reassuring himself when board a flight.

"I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play".

-Anjali Tendulkar, Sachin's wife.

"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!"

-Peter Rebouck, Australian journalist.

"To Sachin, the man we all want to be."

-Andrew Symonds, Australian cricketer, signing a T shirt specially for Sachin.

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

-Brian Lara, West Indies batsman who holds record of highest score in cricket.

"The number of innings of his (Tendulkar's) I have been able to sit back and watch, I think he is an amazing player. Look at his stats and records and it's quite incredible for someone to have stayed in the game for 20 years.. He has set benchmarks for guys like me to chase him and get as close as we can. If I had to last 20 years, I would probably be batting in a wheelchair!!"

-Ricky Ponting, Aussie batsman who once was expected to overhaul Sachin's records.

I'll see god when I die but till then I'll see Sachin.

-A banner during a match in Sharjah.

"I have seen god. he bats at no.4 in Tests for India."

-Mark Teller, former Australia cricketer.

"Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the lord is watching!"

-A banner in UK.

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

-Mark Taylor, Australian captain in 1998 when his team lost Chennai test as Tendulkar scored 155 unbeaten runs in second innings, smashing star spinner Shane Warne all around Chepauk.

"He has been in form longer than some of our guys have been alive."

-Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer who began his career as a teenager.

"The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock."

-ML Jaisimha, former India cricketer.

"The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility - all make for a one-in-a-billion individual".

-Glen McGrath, Aussie fast bowler who always bowled well against Sachin Tendulkar.

There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricketers were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the genius!!

-Shahrukh Khan, Indian actor, in an interview when asked to name the most important celebrity.

"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 sue Prime Minister for once but no one can contest Sachin Tendulkar).

-Navjot Singh Sidhu, former India cricketer, politician and TV personality.

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

-NKP Salve, former Union Minister when Tendulkar was accused of ball tempering during a test match in South Africa.

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

-Andy Flower, former Zimbabwe cricketer.

"Test cricket is bloody hard work, especially when you've got Sachin batting with what looks like a three metre wide bat."

-Michael Hussey, Aussie cricketer.

I have joked before that there is a good chance that I might retire before Tendulkar."

-MS Dhoni, Indian cricketer who began his career 16 years after Sachin did.

"Sachin Tendulkar is a great cricketer but he walks and goes to the toilet like all of us."

-Ray Jennings, Royal Challengers Bangalore team coach, trying to encourage his team before an IPL match against Sachin's Mumbai Indians in 2010.

"He's not going to sleep for a week."

Harsha Bhogle, Commentator, describing feeling of Rahul Sharma, an unknown spinner.

"I want to clarify that this nightmare thing was a joke. Sachin is the best batsman of my time... but I am not scared of him, or anybody for that matter."

-Shane Warne, legendry Aussie leg spinner who once joked he was getting nightmares of Sachin Tendulkar ravaging his bowling after a test at Chennai in 1998.

"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, Indian actor.

We have started calling him grandfather."

-Yuvraj Singh, Sachin's team mate for over a decade.

"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!"

-Sourav Ganguly, former Indian captain.

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."

-Martina Navratilova, Tennis legend, after watching Tendulkar bat at Sydney.

Some of Sachin Tendulkar's memorable quotes :-

"Hansie Cronje. Honestly. I got out to Hansie more than anyone ... I never knew what to do with him."

-Sachin, on which bowlers troubled him the most. Cronje, South African part time medium pacer, dismissed him 8 times.

"As the total crept, we weren't allowed to change places. Our manager was near the toilet and I was by the food, so I kept munching away. I can tell you I was very full by the end."

-Sachin Tendulkar recalls India's marathaon chase of 326 in the 2002 Natwest Series final where Yuvraj & Kaif lured India out of dead situation.

"If you try to hit a six, I will hit you on the bum."

-Sachin Tendulkar warned Virender Sehwag when he was on 295 at Multan against Pakistan.. Sehwag hit a six to reach first triple century by an Indian!

"I have sometimes worn a baseball cap, a beard, spectacles and a wig not to be noticed."

-Sachin, on how he dodges fans in India.

"Twenty20 cricket is the dessert and you can't survive on that. Who wants to eat only desserts?"

-Sachin insists Test cricket is real cricket.

"I am glad it does not breathe."

-Sachin, on his wax statue at Madame Tussauds in London.

"I used to receive letters written in blood, but not anymore."

-Sachin says his fans have grown up.

"Success is a process. During that journey sometimes there are stones thrown at you, and you convert them into milestones."

-Sachin, in an interview the day he went past Brian Lara as leading run scorer in test cricket.

"I couldn't sleep all this time. I am numb. The images keep playing in my head. This was just not an attack on Mumbai, it is an attack on India."

-Sachin Tendulkar on 26/11.