Who is the God of Cricket

While cricket has seen numerous legends gracing the sport over the past century, no one has exhibited as much consistency and dominance as former Indian cricketer and batting legend Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, who is the god of cricket in the world.

Playing over three decades in as many as 664 international matches across all formats, Tendulkar has set a benchmark that remains unparalleled even today, 10 years after his retirement.

From scoring the most number of centuries in a calendar year to becoming the first double centurion in ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar’s career is littered with unattainable records as he has left an indelible mark in the game. When Tendulkar finally won the ODI World Cup in 2011 after six attempts, the king of cricket, Virat Kohli famously stated in the post-match ceremony, “He (Sachin Tendulkar) has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, it was time we carried him.”

Why Sachin Tendulkar is the god of cricket? 

Playing 24 long years, Tendulkar has played an enormous 782 innings in Tests, ODIs and T20Is combined, with his highest being an unbeaten 248. He has tallied an unbelievable 34357 runs in the process, which has 100 centuries and 164 fifties. 

The difference between leading run-scorer Tendulkar and second-placed Kumar Sangakkara is evident in the greatness of the Master Blaster. The former Sri Lankan captain has scored 6341 runs less than the god of cricket, and the names further down the top 5 list of run-getters only show the superiority of Tendulkar.

While three-time World Cup winner and Australian legend Ricky Ponting ended his illustrious career with 6874 runs behind Tendulkar, the best cricketer of the last decade, Virat Kohli is unlikely to reach Tendulkar’s record having tallied 26,532 in 518 matches.

Playing over 600 matches in international cricket is also a testament to Tendulkar’s discipline and commitment towards the beloved game. The Mumbai lad has faced almost three generations of bowlers and battled numerous injuries and heartbreaks to reach the epitome, which makes him the god of cricket. 

Tendulkar is the only cricketer to tally a century of hundreds in international cricket, a record that isn’t going to be breached anytime soon. While Kohli became the first cricketer to reach 50 centuries in ODIs in the recently concluded 2023 World Cup, the 35-year-old is still 20 centuries behind his idol despite having played a format for more than almost a decade.

While Tendulkar’s compatriot has still come closer to Tendulkar on this list, the revered likes of Ponting, Sangakkara and Jacques Kallis are miles behind. Though the South African has been impressive in the longest format, sitting just six centuries behind Tendulkar, having played 34 matches less, it is the Indian’s consistency across the formats that make him the best cricketer in the world. 

The numbers that prove that Tendulkar wasn’t just another batsman who played for stat-padding but was significant in most of the matches he was, is the sheer number of Man of the Match awards he has received.

While he was a regular in India’s Test playing eleven across the whole 24 years that he played, it was in the ODIs that Tendulkar had single-handedly won games for the country on numerous occasions. In 452 innings in 50-over cricket, he stood out 62 times, which is 21 more times than Kohli, widely considered to be the best ODI player to have ever played the game of cricket.