Maradona: "It was the hand of the god"
Pele: "For 20 years they have been asking me the same question, who is the greatest? Maradona or Pele? I reply that all you have to do is look at the facts - how many goals did he score with his right foot or with his head?”
Roger Federer: "I've created the monster"
Muhammad Ali: “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.”
Sachin Tendulkar: "???"
All the above-mentioned legends have at some point of the time or the other have mentioned themselves in the third person. Not for Tendulkar is frequent referrals to himself in the third person. India, a developing nation by large has had a shortage of genuine heroes from the days of Gandhi. Tendulkar filled that void for people born in the post-independence era.
November 15th, 1989 was the day prodigy set foot on the international cricket. He was popular by the time he came to international cricket courtesy his debut centuries in Ranji Trophy against Gujrat, Irani Trophy and Duleep Trophy. How can we ever forget the partnership that he forged with Kambli bought him into the national reckoning.
For all his talent, the first thing that bought him into spotlight was the century at Perth and his struggle to get to his first ODI century. Get he did to his first century in his 79th ODI and boy! what a juggernaut it has been after that notching up 44 centuries after that. Same was reported of his struggles with a double century. I remember him making the statement "Once the first one comes, there will be many more to follow". He did get to his first double-century in Ahmedabad with three more following
All through the crisis in personal and professional life, never has there been a moment where his behaviour was dicey. All through those incidents he came out with his head held high (read Denness affair, Ferrari import duty, Sydney fracas). In these days where Superstars claim they are not responsible for their actions and how kids will take after them, Sachin has been a leading light in terms of impeccable behaviour
It will be long before we will ever get to see a player like this. He is not just "Once in a century player" or "Once in a generation player" but "One for the ages"
Pele: "For 20 years they have been asking me the same question, who is the greatest? Maradona or Pele? I reply that all you have to do is look at the facts - how many goals did he score with his right foot or with his head?”
Roger Federer: "I've created the monster"
Muhammad Ali: “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.”
Sachin Tendulkar: "???"
All the above-mentioned legends have at some point of the time or the other have mentioned themselves in the third person. Not for Tendulkar is frequent referrals to himself in the third person. India, a developing nation by large has had a shortage of genuine heroes from the days of Gandhi. Tendulkar filled that void for people born in the post-independence era.
November 15th, 1989 was the day prodigy set foot on the international cricket. He was popular by the time he came to international cricket courtesy his debut centuries in Ranji Trophy against Gujrat, Irani Trophy and Duleep Trophy. How can we ever forget the partnership that he forged with Kambli bought him into the national reckoning.
For all his talent, the first thing that bought him into spotlight was the century at Perth and his struggle to get to his first ODI century. Get he did to his first century in his 79th ODI and boy! what a juggernaut it has been after that notching up 44 centuries after that. Same was reported of his struggles with a double century. I remember him making the statement "Once the first one comes, there will be many more to follow". He did get to his first double-century in Ahmedabad with three more following
All through the crisis in personal and professional life, never has there been a moment where his behaviour was dicey. All through those incidents he came out with his head held high (read Denness affair, Ferrari import duty, Sydney fracas). In these days where Superstars claim they are not responsible for their actions and how kids will take after them, Sachin has been a leading light in terms of impeccable behaviour
It will be long before we will ever get to see a player like this. He is not just "Once in a century player" or "Once in a generation player" but "One for the ages"
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