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The man is a living legend. Recently, he completed 20 years in international cricket – an achievement that saw all time greats heap lavish praises on the man we call “The Little Master”. After making his debut as a 16-year old against Pakistan, Sachin has grown from strength to strength. He now holds innumerable records. Most number of Test Centuries, most number of ODI centuries, most number of runs in international cricket, most number of MOM awards in ODI’s. The list is endless and mind-boggling. Recently, the maestro completed 17000 runs in Test Cricket and 30000 runs in international cricket. With such a flawless record, there should not be any doubt over his iconic status in the game. But critics always seem to have their arguments.

The highest career batting average belongs to Sir Don Bradman. At 54.79, Tendulkar comes eighteenth in the list. Modern day cricketers such as Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting are ahead of him in the average charts. One more allegation labelled against him is his inability to win games for India.  People argue that there is nothing more to Tendulkar than his records. There have been instances where Sachin has single handedly won games for India – like the two back to back centuries in Sharjah, recent VB series triumph in Australia. But critics argue that these instances have been few and far between.

Whatever be the case, there is no denying Sachin’s cult status on cricket grounds in India and over the world. Millions of Indians switch off their television sets when Sachin gets out. In a sense, people come to the grounds to watch Sachin and not the team. There will be always a debate whether he is the greatest cricketer of his era, but one thing is for sure he is the finest entertainer of his generation.