Sachin Tendulkar was born April 24, 1973, in Bombay, India. Introduced to cricket at age 11, Tendulkar was just 16 when he became India’s youngest Test cricketer. In 2005, he became the first cricketer to score 35 centuries (100 runs in a single inning) in Test play. In 2008, he reached another major milestone by surpassing Brian Lara’s mark of 11,953 Test runs. Tendulkar took home the World Cup with his team in 2011, and wrapped up his record-breaking career in 2013.
Largely considered cricket’s greatest batsman, Sachin Tendulkar was born April 24, 1973, in Bombay, India, to a middle-class family, the youngest of four children. His father was a writer and a professor, while his mother worked for a life insurance company.
Named after his family’s favorite music director, Sachin Dev Burman, Tendulkar wasn’t a particularly gifted student, but he’d always shown himself to be a standout athlete. He was 11 years old when he was given his first cricket bat, and his talent in the sport was immediately apparent. At the age of 14, he scored 326 out of a world-record stand of 664 in a school match. As his accomplishments grew, he became a sort of cult figure among Bombay schoolboys.
After high school, Tendulkar enrolled at Kirti College, where his father also taught. The fact that he decided to go to the school where his father worked came as no surprise. Tendulkar’s family is very close, and years after he’d achieved stardom and cricket fame, he continued to live next door to his parents.
In India, Tendulkar’s star shined even brighter. In a country reeling from troubled economic times, the young cricketer was seen as a symbol of hope by his countrymen that better times lay ahead. One national newsweekly went so far as to devote an entire issue to the young cricketer, dubbing him “The Last Hero” for his home country. His style of play—aggressive and inventive—resonated with the sport’s fans, as did Tendulkar’s unassuming off-the-field living. Even with his increasing wealth, Tendulkar showed humility and refused to flaunt his money.