Happy Birthday Sachin Tendulkar: 5 records of his that may never be broken

Former India captain and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar turned 50 on Monday. Tendulkar, who debuted in 1989 at the age of 16, went on to have an incredible international career when he broke numerous records and gained global recognition for his performances on the field.

Here are 5 records that he still holds and which are likely to be never broken by any player in future:

• Most number of Tests

Tendulkar belonged to a generation for whom Test cricket was the pinnacle and performance in the longest format mattered more than any other. In his 24-year career, Tendulkar featured in 200 Test matches which, close to 10 years since his international retirement, is still a record. For a while England's Sir Alastair Cook posed a threat to going past him, but he retired in 2018. Among the active cricketers, Cook's former teammate James Anderson is second on the list with 179 matches, but he will turn 41 in July this year and it remains to be seen how close he can get to the mark.

• Most number of Test runs

Tendulkar's run tally of 15921 runs remains the highest by any player in the history of the game. He made those runs in 329 innings at an average of 53.78. Among the contemporaries, England's Joe Root has made 10948 runs in 129 Tests. It remains to be seen if he can sustain his hunger for runs and go past Tendulkar for most number of Test runs scored by any player.

• Most number of ODI runs

Tendulkar was not just a great Test batter, but was also a superb ODI batter. In 463 50-over games, he amassed 18426 runs at an average of 44.83 and a strike-rate of 86.23 with 49 hundreds to his name. More than a decade since his retirement from the format, it is still the most number of runs scored by any batter. India's Virat Kohli is the closest among the active cricketers to the mark, having scored 12898 runs in 274 ODIs and it remains to be seen if he can keep his hunger going to get close to the mark or even go past it.

• Player who has featured in most ODI World Cups

Tendulkar debuted in ODIs in 1989 and played his last ODI in 2012. In that duration, he featured in six ODI 50-over World Cups- a record he shares with Pakistan's Javed Miandad. Among the modern-day active cricketers who like to prioritise formats, it remains to be seen which player could show the longevity needed to go past the mark.

• Most fours in ODIs

Tendulkar played ODIs at a time when the fours remained a more viable currency to score runs than sixes, although one could say that during his time he took the aerial route against pace and spin more than others. In his ODI career, Tendulkar hit 2016 fours, which equates to 8064 runs in boundaries. Among the active cricketers, Kohli has hit 1211 fours and it remains to be seen how close he gets to the mark.

Also read: Tendulkar is not just a cricketing idol for me, he is a life coach: Yuvraj Singh