Sachin Tendulkar is celebrating his 53rd birthday on Friday (April 24). The boy from Mumbai was born on April 24, 1973. Sachin made quick progress in junior cricket and made his Ranji Trophy debut aged 15. A year later, he was on the flight to Pakistan and made his Test and ODI debuts there.
Sachon became a cult figure in international cricket and finished his career as the highest run-scorer in the two traditional formats of the game. He donned 200 Test and 463 ODI caps, the most in history. The selection committee at that time seemingly saw the next superstar in Sachin and selected him as the rookie age of 16.
Sachin created history and etched his name in record books when he took the field against Pakistan as he became the youngest to play Test cricket for India. He was 16 years and days old on his debut.
While fans know all about Sachin’s international debut, not many know that he once fielded for Pakistan 2 years before playing for India. Back in 1987, Pakistan were playing a festival match against India at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Pakstan’s Javed Miandad and Abdul Qadir went off the field duirng the lunch break. Sachin was sent to field for Pakistan as a replacement. “I don’t know whether Imran Khan remembers this or has any idea that I once fielded for his Pakistan team,” he wrote in his book, Playing It My Way, released in 2014.
Sachin almost pouched Kapil Dev’s catch during his stay on the field. Sahcin made his Ranji Trophy debut in 1988 and slammed a century on debuit. He also slammed centuries on his Irani Cup and Duleep Trophy debuts.
Sachin Tendulkar’s career
Sachin Tendulkar finished his Test career with 15921 runs in 200 Tests. He slammed 51 centuries i the red-ball cricket. He piled up 18426 runs in 463 ODIs he played.
Sachin scored 100 centuries in international cricket. He is the only batter to achieve this record. The ICC Hall of Famer wa slaos a handy bowler and scalped 200 wickets in interantional cricket. He retired from internatinonal cricket in 2013, after playing his farewell game at the Wankhede Stadium in November 2013.