Cracking Tendulkar's longevity code: the cricket god who ‘saw bigger picture & made the most of his body'

A debut at 16, when he went out to face Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in 1989, was unheard of in the Indian cricket circle. And, in those 24 deliveries he faced in the first innings of his debut Test, the world saw glimpses of this batting genius.

In Karachi, it was World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, who shared a dressing room with him, and when Tendulkar, nearing his 40s, decided to take off his gloves after playing a record 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, it was another World Cup-winning captain, MS Dhoni, who shouldered the master blaster to the dressing room.

Also Read ‘He is a genius, I am a mere mortal'- Sachin Tendulkar's legacy

In his over 2-decade-long career, which is an unimaginable feat, he shared the dressing room with three generations of cricketers many of whom he was an inspiration.

Inevitably in his journey of becoming a modern-day god of cricket, the little master set new records, many of which are hard to break even as international fixtures have increased many folds and higher fitness levels have enhanced the longevity of batting careers.

To assert how the longevity worked, sample this: Among Tendulkar’s notable teammates and contemporaries, Sourav Ganguly played for 16 years, Rahul Dravid for 16, Brian Lara, with whom the cricket world drew comparisons played 17, Inzamam ul-Haq featured in 16 years, and Ricky Ponting in 17.

While these mind-boggling figures make one think how a modest-looking yet relentlessly talented man achieved them, his batting partner, Virender Sehwag seems to have cracked the longevity code. The Nawab of Najafgrah Sehwag in a recent interview revealed:

‘Sachin Tendulkar was able to play for so many years because he would bring technical changes in his batting every year, he kept adding new techniques. When I came in the 2000s, Sachin would take care of his fitness more than I would, when in 2008-9 Virat Kohli came, Sachin would compete with Virat’s level of fitness’.

Such was his discipline, the Bombay Bomber had bounced back from career-ending injuries. Be it the back injury in 98, a broken toe in 2001, a finger injury during the 2003 World Cup, the shoulder injury, and a tennis elbow—his most serious injuries –in 2004, he braved all. Sample this, despite a niggling finger, Sachin was the top run-getter during the 2003 World Cup.
Tendulkar’s dedication towards the game is what defined him. John Gloster, who was the Indian team’s physiotherapist from 2005-08 and had aptly noted that the cricket god ‘saw the bigger picture and tailored his techniques to make the most of his body’.