Sachin Tendulkar turns 49; let's look back at his long, historical career

April 24 can be considered a historic day in the world of cricket, as it marks the birthday of cricketing legend, Sachin Tendulkar. The Maharashtra-born player, who turned 49 on Sunday, made his Test debut on November 15, 1989, at the age of 16. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary batter has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, the most by any player. Apart from Test cricket, Sachin has created numerous records in the ODI format as well. He stands at the top of the list of most runs in ODI, with a total of 18,426 runs, including 49 tons and 96 half-centuries.

During his long career, the former batter represented India in six World Cups. He was also a part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad. He has also achieved a historic milestone of scoring 100 international tons and holds the record for registering the most centuries in Test and ODIs. He was also the first batsman to score a double ton in the 50-over format.

Sachin was last seen playing in Road Safety World Series in 2021, where he led India Legends to the title win. Currently, he is the mentor of the Indian Premier League franchise, Mumbai Indians.