Sachin Tendulkar - The Ambassador of Cricket World Cup 2015

The ICC announced Sachin Tendulkar as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 ambassador. It will be the second successive time that the India maestro will be the Ambassador of the Biggest event of Cricket, after he fulfilled his dream in the previous event, which was co-hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in 2011.

In his role as a World Cup 2015 ambassador, Tendulkar will promote and support a variety of ICC initiatives to enhance the profile of the tournament, which is one of the biggest sporting event in the world and will take place in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29. Sachin Tendulkar retired from international cricket last year after representing his country in 200 Tests, 463 One-Day Internationals and only one Twenty 20 International. In a career of Glorious 24 years, the 41-year-old scored a total of 34,357 international runs and 100 centuries which gave him the name as "THE GOD OF CRICKET".

Sachin Tendulkar added the missing World Cup title to his long list of achievements in his 6th attempt in 2011. He is the all-time leading run-getter in World Cup history with 2,278 runs in 45 matches at an average of 56.95. For his 673 runs in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, he was awarded player of the tournament as India finished runner-up to Australia.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: "The ICC is delighted to once again have Sachin as an Ambassador for its biggest and most prestigious tournament. Sachin is not only an inspiration to cricketers but to all sports people for his endurance, perseverance, talent, personality and commitment to the game."

The 11th edition of the World Cup kicks off in Christchurch on February 14 when co-hosts New Zealand take on former champion Sri Lanka. On the same day at the picturesque Melbourne Cricket Ground, four-time world champion Australia will square-off against England, which reached the final the last time the event was staged in Australia/New Zealand in 1992.

Sachin Tendulkar and Australian PM Tony Abbott with Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee pose with the Cricket World Cup trophy.

A total of 49 matches will be played across 14 venues, seven in New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington) and seven in Australia (Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney).

The format of the tournament is the same as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, i.e. two groups of seven sides each, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. All the knock-out stage matches will have reserve days.

Apart from the 10 regular teams, four qualifiers from the ICC World Cricket League - Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates will take part in the tournament.

This is it for now, there's more to come. Keep reading and Keep Smiling.

"Sach" Is Life...

This blog is for the man who taught us the real meaning of cricket, who taught us to play cricket. When we talk about Cricket, the first name that comes to our mind is ‘Sachin Tendulkar’- The God of Cricket. He may retire, but not his legacy. He will always be remembered when we talk about cricket.

He started playing cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test début against Pakistan at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai in domestic cricket and India internationally for twenty-four years. He is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International, the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket. He is also the first Indian to score 50,000 runs in all forms of domestic and international recognized cricket.

In 2002, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Don Bradman, and the second greatest ODI batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards. There were some moments in his career, where we saw a downfall, but every time Sachin stood up and proved all his critics wrong. His love for cricket kept him in the game and also in our hearts. Only an Indian can understand that feeling when Sachin is batting in the nervous 90’s and then the whole nation bursting and celebrating his century as its one of the festival. He is the most worshipped cricketer in the world. If we talk about Sachin Tendulkar, this blog will never come to an end. Hence, we will keep it short and sweet till now. 

Here are some of my favorite quotes on Sachin Tendulkar from other cricketers.

1.   “I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I felt that this player is playing with a style similar to mine, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two…his compactness, technique, stroke production – it all seemed to gel!” – Sir Donald Bradman

2.   “He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also.”
-Waqar Younis, former Pakistan fast bowler

3.   “There are two kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.” -Andy Flower, former Zimbabwe cricketer

4.   “Sachin Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders” – Virat Kohli after India won the 2011 World Cup.

5.   “I have seen God, he bats at no. 4 for India” – Matthew Hayden

6.   “I am fortunate that I’ve to bowl at him only in the nets!” – Anil Kumble

7.   “We did not lose to a team called India. We lost to a man called Sachin” – Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

8.   “Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the lord is watching!”
-A banner in UK.

9.   I’ll be going tobed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting meback over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don’t think anyone,apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He isjust an amazing player – Shane Warne.

10. I’ll see god when I die but till then I’ll see Sachin – From a fan in Sharjah

With these wonderful quotes, I end this blog here and promise to continue writing about the legend ‘Sachin Tendulkar.

“Keep reading and Keep Smiling”. Thank You.

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