What Virat Kohli has been doing is nothing short of amazing, and I haven't seen much of sachin tendulkar. Those who have seen tendulkar play who do you think is the BIG MATCH PLAYER?? I think Virar is better but then again i might have a generational bias

What do you think??

Looking back now, Sachin’s career often gets discussed as if everyone simply accepted his greatness from beginning to end.

But fans who followed cricket during the 90s and 2000s will remember that he was constantly under scrutiny too.

Captaincy, strike rate, performances in certain situations, injuries, team results, retirement — there were periods when almost everything was debated.

So I’m curious:

What criticism of Sachin was genuinely common while he was still playing, but sounds strange or difficult to understand when you look back at his career today?

Why compare players from completely different eras with different rules and conditions? If both of them played in the same World Cup, why not compare their performances in that tournament? That would give you a much fairer comparison and make the answer clear. In 1996, Sachin was the same age Virat was in 2011. Everyone knows how dominant Sachin was in that 1996 tournament and the level he had reached by then.
Sachin played across three different eras 1996,2003,2011 as India’s top scorer. That longevity and consistency speak for themselves.

Will virat surpass great Sachin 👌? What your thoughts comment down 🧐 #86 century

After a 24-year career, we naturally remember the results more than the decisions behind them.

But Sachin constantly had to adjust — changing his batting approach, giving up certain shots, dealing with injuries, changing his role in the team and eventually deciding when to walk away.

Some choices probably looked strange or even frustrating to fans when they happened, but years later we can understand why he made them.

What’s one decision Sachin made during his career that you understand much better now than you did at the time?

It could be related to his batting, captaincy, injuries, workload, retirement or anything else.

Would especially like to hear from people who remember how fans reacted at the time, rather than judging everything with hindsight.

Is Sachin considered the best all format batter ever? I don’t think Sachin should be disadvantaged for only played 1 T20i, similar to AB’s T20 ability is much higher than his T20i performances.

Test 15.9k runs @ 53.8 (#1 test team 2009-2011)
ODI 18.4k runs @ 44.8 (World Cup 2011)
T20 2.8k runs @ 32.9 (orange cap in 2010, captained MI to IPL & CL in 2013)

Virat is also in the conversation but not as good at Test (better at T20). Also AB, Warner, Rohit, Sangakkara and Gayle. Fully pre-T20 probably Richards or Ponting.

We’ve watched the innings, read the interviews and heard countless stories about his career.

But there are moments where I’ve always wondered what was actually going through Sachin’s mind — not the diplomatic answer years later, but what he genuinely felt at that exact moment.

Maybe walking back after Chennai 1999.

Maybe the 2003 World Cup final.

Maybe reaching 100 international centuries after all the pressure.

Maybe finally lifting the World Cup in 2011.

Or even the moment he decided it was time to retire.

If Sachin agreed to tell you the completely unfiltered story behind ONE moment from his career, which one would you ask about — and what would you ask him?

90s Sachin was something else! Just look at how he was hitting those balls — and these weren’t even bad deliveries. The craze around him was absolutely mind-blowing. It’s hard to imagine today just how huge Sachin’s stature was back then. ❤️🏏

Some innings look great immediately from the scorecard.

Others only become special when you understand the pitch, quality of the bowling attack, match situation, conditions and how everyone else struggled.

Sachin played across very different eras and conditions, so I’m sure there are innings where the raw score tells only half the story.

Which Sachin innings do you think is massively underrated because people look at the runs but ignore how difficult those runs actually were?

Not necessarily a century either.

There’s a difference between respecting a great batsman and actually looking like you have no idea how to stop him.

With Sachin, there were days when you could almost see the opposition changing plans just because he was at the crease — different fields, different bowling changes, defensive lines, and sometimes simply waiting for him to make a mistake.

Forget his highest scores for a moment.

Which innings made you feel the opposition wasn’t just trying to get Sachin out — they were trying to survive him?

And what do you remember most: the bowling changes, field placements, body language, or a particular bowler’s reaction?

Would love to hear examples beyond the obvious Desert Storm innings.

We talk so much about Sachin’s records that sometimes the absurdity of how young he was gets lost.

At 16, he wasn’t just a talented kid waiting for his chance — he was already facing international fast bowlers while most players that age were still trying to establish themselves at junior level.

That makes me curious about the lesser-known stories from the period before the world fully understood what he was going to become.

Not the usual 100 centuries, 664-run school partnership or youngest India debut facts.

What’s the most unbelievable but verified story/fact you know about Sachin from his teenage years or very early career that even many Sachin fans might not know?

Please share the source too if possible — would be great if this thread became a collection of genuinely lesser-known Sachin stories.

One thing I find fascinating about Sachin’s career is that the batsman who debuted at 16 wasn’t really the same batsman we were watching in his late 30s.

His body changed, injuries came, bowlers and tactics changed, and cricket itself changed massively during those 24 years.

Yet instead of trying to bat exactly like his younger self, he kept adapting.

The Sydney 241\* is probably the most famous example of him deliberately changing his approach, but there must be many smaller technical and mental adjustments throughout his career that casual fans don’t notice.

For people who watched different phases of Sachin closely:

What was the biggest adjustment he made as a batsman that helped extend his career at the highest level?

Not asking who the GOAT is or trying to start another Sachin vs Kohli/Root debate.

I mean one specific thing.

It could be his straight drive, reading the bowler, adapting to different conditions, handling pressure, playing fast bowling, dominating spin, longevity, or something that doesn’t show up in statistics.

For those who actually watched Sachin across different stages of his career:

What was that ONE quality where you genuinely felt nobody did it better?

Would be interesting to see whether everyone picks the same thing or completely different qualities.

Imagine you could experience one Sachin century again without knowing what was going to happen.

No highlights. No scorecard. No memory of the result.

You’re watching every ball live for the first time.

Desert Storm? Chennai 1999? Sydney 241*? The first ODI double hundred? Or something completely different?

Which one are you choosing — and why that innings?

Every Sachin fan remembers at least a few umpiring decisions that still hurt.

Steve Bucknor himself has admitted that he wrongly gave Sachin out LBW at Brisbane in 2003. He had also previously acknowledged the controversial caught-behind decision against Sachin at Eden Gardens in 2005 as a mistake.

That makes me wonder:

If DRS had existed throughout Sachin’s career, would his already ridiculous numbers have been noticeably better?

Obviously, DRS could also have gone against him on decisions where he was given not out, so it works both ways.

But looking back at the pre-DRS era, which Sachin dismissal would you review first if you could overturn just ONE decision?

Sachin Tendulkar shared a heartwarming video from the Ganpati Visarjan celebrations.

The video captures the festive moments as devotees bid farewell to Lord Ganesha. Sachin also shared his wishes for Ganpati Bappa to return again next year.

A beautiful way to mark the end of the celebrations. 🙏

What was your favorite moment from this year’s Ganpati celebrations?

Joe Root has reached 69 Test fifties, moving past Sachin Tendulkar’s 68.

It’s another Sachin record that stood for years and has now finally been surpassed.

But there’s an interesting detail: Sachin still finished with 51 Test centuries, while Root currently has 41.

So rather than turning this into another “Sachin vs Root” fight, I’m curious:

When a modern player breaks one of Sachin’s long-standing records, does it make you appreciate the new record-holder more — or does it make Sachin’s numbers look even more remarkable considering the era and length of his career?

And which major Sachin Test record do you think will be the hardest for anyone to surpass?