From his appearance on the firmament as a 16-year-old, Tendulkar has been a beacon for the new India. ‘When India won the Cricket World Cup in 2011, an abiding image from the celebrations was of the Indian cricket team carrying Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders around Wankhede stadium. Tendulkar was not the captain of the team and the victory had been a team effort. But for the players, the victory was a gift to a man, arguably India’s greatest cricketer and inarguably one of the very greatest in the world.’ Sachin Tendulkar’s story may have been told many times, but it never stops delighting the cricket fan. In the 25 years that Tendulkar has played cricket, there is almost no existing batting record that he has not broken, or no impossible record that he has not set. He has even changed the way money and endorsements entered the game. At the same time, his incredible batting skills have kept him rooted in the fine traditions of cricket. Some say that one runs out of words when describing Sachin Tendulkar’s prowess and achievements. Others may more emphatically claim that there simply aren’t enough words to talk about this incredible cricketer. Ayaz Memon, one of India’s most prolific journalists, brings with him 33 years of experience in sports writing. He started his career covering sports and went on to edit newspapers like Mid-Day, Bombay Times and DNA as well as magazines like Sportsweek. Ayaz was also sports editor for the Times of India and the Independent at various stages. He is currently consulting editor with NewsX. Indranil Rai is a freelance journalist with an undying passion sports, especially cricket.