5 Indian cricketers who consider Sachin Tendulkar as their idol 

Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the greatest cricketer in the history of the game. He represented India for 24 years and scored over 34,000 runs in international cricket with 100 centuries to his name. He was a central figure in India's 2011 World Cup win.

Tendulkar was the hope of a billion people. Once he got out, many Indian fans used to shut down their televisions as they were certain India would go on to lose the match.

Let's take a look at 5 Indian players who idolized the "Little Master".

#1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains India's most successful captain to date. Sachin won the World Cup under his leadership and later called him the best captain he has ever played under.

In an interaction with students, the former Indian captain said he idolized Sachin Tendulkar growing up. He also said that Sachin was "by far" the best batsman he has personally ever seen.

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#2 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has carried forward Tendulkar's legacy over the past decade, winning games for India in all formats and being the most consistent run-getter in modern-day cricket. Kohli called Tendulkar the 'GOAT', a title which he has only given to Viv Richards apart from the Indian legend.

In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Kohli said that he looks up to Sachin as an inspiration. His lines after the 2011 World Cup win still reverberate in the minds of Indian cricket fans.

"He's carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, it's time we carried him on our shoulders."

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#3 Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav, popularly known as SKY, made his debut for India in March 2021. He has represented India in 44 T20Is and 16 ODIs. The 32-year-old is one of the best T20 batsmen in the world. He possesses exceptional range and intent to score runs quickly and on a consistent basis.

Yadav spoke about Tendulkar on the show Breakfast with Champions. The 'Master Blaster' called SKY to sit next to him in the Mumbai Indians dressing room.

"When I went to the MI dressing room for the first time, there was no room to sit, there were so many players. I was standing with my kit bag. Sachin has a fixed spot to sit, near the Ganesh idol. He asked, 'What happened?'. I said, 'There's no space to sit. He replied saying, 'Pull up a chair and sit somewhere'."

"I told him, 'There's no space anywhere.' He asked me to sit beside him and till date that spot is where I always sit. Whether it is the domestic game or an IPL game...that spot is fixed. That's where it all started and after all, if God tells you to sit there, you have to sit there."

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#4 Pooja Vastrakar

Bowling all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar made her international debut in 2018. Since then, she has represented the country in 68 matches. She has 51 dismissals and 1,474 runs to her name across all forms of the game.

For Vastrakar, Tendulkar was the reason she started playing cricket. In an interview with Sportstar, she spoke about the influence he had on her career.

"He has been a great source of inspiration for me. I wanted to bat like him. I would find reasons to leave school once I learnt India was batting first (in ODI). I just could not miss Sachin Sir’s batting. It was a dream to meet him when we were leaving for South Africa. He addressed the team and that was an unforgettable day for me. He has inspired so many like me to play cricket.”

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#5 Jemimah Rodrigues

Jemimah Rodrigues made her international debut against South Africa at the tender age of 17. The right-handed batter has represented the Indian women's team in 91 international matches. She also plays for the Melbourne Stars and Northern Superchargers women's teams in domestic T20 cricket.

Rodrigues is lucky to have been part of multiple training sessions with Tendulkar, who guided her before her first tour to South Africa.

“I told him that I was facing the bowling machine, playing on the back-foot, and honing the pull shots. He told me, ‘I loved playing in South Africa. On such wickets, the ball is going to come even more better on your bat, than the Indian wickets.’ He told me, it’s all about the perspective and how you deal with it. You can either think in the negative, ‘Oh, it’s South Africa!’ or you can take it in the positive way, ‘Oh, I love playing in South Africa’ I really enjoyed playing in South Africa after that,” Jemimah said