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Sachin Tendulkar, Indian Cricketer, at the Force India headquarters
© www.forceindiaf1.com |
| Indian Cricket Legend and a F1 enthusiast |
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| Nationality |
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Indian |
| Date of Birth |
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24th April, 1973 |
| Place of Birth |
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Mumbai, India |
The Indian batting maestro is an ardent Formula One buff and follows the sport closely. He has been spotted in the paddocks on a few occasions and supports the Force India team. His first appearance was at Silverstone in July 2002 where he was presented with the keys to the Ferrari 360 Modena by the then Formula One World Champion, Michael Schumacher, for equalling Don Bradman’s record of 29 Test Centuries against the West Indies at Trinidad. Both Tendulkar and Schumacher were the brand ambassadors for FIAT’s new car Palio which had been launched in India just a few months prior.
For nostalgia, the “little genius” made his International debut, first with Test Cricket on November 15, 1989 against archrivals Pakistan and then with One Day Internationals on December 18, 1989 against the same team. Since then has come a long way to break all possible records in the game. Not only is he the leading run scorer in Test matches and One Day Internationals, but he also holds the record for most number of centuries in both formats of the sport. In February 2010, the “little master” achieved yet another milestone in a career spanning over two decades, as he became the first man in history to score 200 runs in ODIs.
Getting back to Formula One, Tendulkar visited the paddocks for the second time during the 2008 Formula One Season at the Magny-Cours Circuit in France. He was seen cheering for his favourite team, Force India. A few days prior to the race he was spotted with the now Hispania Racing Team driver, Karun Chandhok, who was back then racing in the GP2 series and seemed to have asked him about the track and the weather conditions. He loves the sport and understands it pretty much.
The Mumbaikar was spotted again at Silverstone during the same season and this time with close friend Dr. Vijay Mallya. Tendulkar understands that Cricket still remains as the number one sport back home, but appreciates the effort that the “liquor baron” has put in promoting Formula One in India. Since then the sport has taken the nation by storm with a lot of people coming out in support of the only Indian contingent in F1.
| INTERESTING FACTS: |
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Tendulkar attended the MRF Pace Foundation while he was in school to become a fast bowler, but Dennis Lille, the former Australian fast bowler was not impressed and suggested that he focussed on his batting instead.
Aged just 15 years and 232 days, Sachin scored a century on his first-class debut for Bombay, playing against Gujarat.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was named as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997.
First man to score 200 runs in an innings in ODIs.
Only player at the time to score 100 centuries in the sport.
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