The Indian captain Rohit Sharma is one such individual who has admired the ‘Little Master’ since he was a youngster. Sachin Tendulkar is commemorating his first half-century off the cricket field as the ‘Master Blaster’ turned 50 on April 24. Wishes have been flooding in from all over the world for Tendulkar, who has inspired generations to take up the sport. Everyone on the current Indian team admires Tendulkar and aspires to lead Indian cricket to great heights, as he has done throughout his tenure. In the book ‘Sachin@50’, which was published to commemorate Tendulkar’s accomplishments, Sharma stated that growing up with Tendulkar was akin to growing up with God.
“When I was growing up in Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar was second only to God in my eyes. He played a role in my upbringing. My desire to perform the sport has shaped who I am today. Sachin Tendulkar embodied cricket in our family. He was the benchmark for everything we did. If you wanted to be the greatest, you had to emulate Sachin Tendulkar batting style. He was the unofficial coaching guide. The opportunity to play with him meant everything to me,” Rohit said in Sachin@50.
Sharma, who made his international debut in 2007, had the privilege of playing alongside his idol during the latter’s final seasons. Even the right-handed batsman made his Test debut during Tendulkar’s last series against the West Indies in November 2013.
Rohit Sharma went on to score hundreds in both encounters and was named ‘Player of the Series’ for accumulating 288 runs at an average of 288 throughout the series. On November 2, 2013, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the current captain of India surpassed his idol’s feat of scoring a double century in one-day international cricket.
Rohit Sharma led Tendulkar to IPL and Champions League T20 victories as captain.
Sharma even served as Tendulkar’s captain in the 2013 IPL season and led Mumbai Indians to their first IPL championship, granting his idol a fairytale send-off. Prior to Tendulkar’s departure from franchise cricket in the same year, he lead Mumbai Indians to a Champions League Twenty20 championship.
Furthermore, Sharma tied Tendulkar’s record for the most centuries in ODI World Cup history (6) by accumulating 648 runs in the 2019 World Cup, including five centuries. The Indian opener came near to breaking Tendulkar’s ODI World Cup record for most runs scored in a single tournament (673 runs).
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