Sachin Tendulkar

The record that may never fall

One hundred international centuries. Say it slowly, because nobody else is close. Sachin Tendulkar finished his 24-year career with 51 Test hundreds and 49 ODI hundreds, plus 34,357 international runs — nearly 6,000 more than anyone else in history. Even Virat Kohli, the greatest run machine of the modern era, reached his mid-thirties still 15 centuries short.

Tendulkar debuted for India at 16 years old, in Karachi in 1989, facing a Pakistan attack of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. He was hit on the face by a bouncer in that series, bled, and batted on. India spent the next quarter-century refusing to let him leave.

Career records at a glance

Record	Number
International runs	34,357 (most ever)
International centuries	100 (most ever)
Test matches	200 (most ever)
Test runs	15,921 (most ever)
ODI runs	18,426 (most ever)
ODI appearances	463 (most ever)
World Cup runs	2,278 (most ever)
World Cups played	6 (1992–2011)

Defining moments

The Desert Storm, Sharjah 1998. Two consecutive centuries against Australia — the first played through an actual sandstorm — that turned a 25-year-old into a national religion. Shane Warne later joked he had nightmares of Tendulkar dancing down the pitch.

The first ODI double century. On 24 February 2010, against South Africa in Gwalior, Tendulkar became the first player in the 40-year history of one-day internationals to score 200. The barrier everyone assumed was physically impossible fell to a 36-year-old.

The 2011 World Cup. After five heartbreaks, his sixth World Cup ended with India champions in his home city of Mumbai, teammates carrying him on their shoulders. Virat Kohli’s line that night became famous: “He has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It was time we carried him.”

Playing style

Tendulkar’s genius was completeness. The straight drive — elbow high, head still — is the most photographed shot in cricket history, but he could cut, pull, paddle and lift over third man with equal command. He faced the greatest pace generation ever (Akram, Waqar, Ambrose, Walsh, Donald, McGrath) and the greatest spinners (Warne, Muralitharan) and averaged over 44 in ODIs and over 53 in Tests across both.

Net worth: cricket’s first $100m man

Tendulkar was the first cricketer whose commercial value rewrote the sport’s economics. Landmark endorsement deals in the 1990s and 2000s made him India’s highest-paid athlete for two decades, and post-retirement he converted fame into equity — investments across consumer brands, sports franchises and startups. Editorial estimates place his net worth at around $170 million in 2026, the highest of any cricketer ever. He was also the first sportsperson awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.

Where he stands

Bradman owns the average, but Tendulkar owns the mountain: more runs, more centuries, more matches, more years at the top than anyone who has played the game. See how the modern chasers compare on our Virat Kohli profile and the full richest cricketers rankings.