Sachin turns 44: Ten facts that you probably didn't know about Tendulkar

The name Sachin Tendulkar is still enough to get any cricket stadium thundering with applause. If cricket is religion, Tendulkar is the God, is something every fan has heard more than once. And lived by!

The country's best-loved cricketer became a household name worldwide through his 24 spectacular years on the field.

It's been four years since the little master's epic journey on the field ended. And while, the days of watching the five-and-a-half feet tall cricketer tower over anything and everything on the field may have ended, his legacy lives on.

As this legend turns 44 on April 24, here's looking at some lesser-known facts from his epic journey:

1. The legendary batsman is named after music composer and singer, Sachin Dev Burman.

2. Humble beginnings! He was a ball boy during the 1987 semi-final between India and England.

Sachin Tendulkar(left), Dilip Vengsarkar with Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge during a charity event at Oval Maidan in Mumbai. (Image: BCCL)

3. He once fielded for Pakistan as a substitute during a one-day practice match against India at the Brabourne Stadium in 1988.

4. At 19, he became the youngest Indian to play county cricket. His first car was a Maruti-800.

5. For his debut Test against Pakistan, he wore pads gifted to him by Sunil Gavaskar.

Former captain and opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar blesses Sachin Tendulkar before 200th test match, against West Indies in 2013. (Image: BCCL)

6. He was the first ever batsman to be declared run-out by the third umpire in an international game against South Africa in 1992.

7. He even managed to give Shane Warne nightmares. The former Australian cricketer once revealed that his nightmares were full of "Sachin coming, dancing down the track and lofting me over for yet another six!"

8. He was the first batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score 10,000 runs. Tendulkar made the record during his 266th match in 2001.

Fit for a frame! (L to R) Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Shehwag, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Lakshman during the opening ceremony of the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL). (Image: AFP)

9. The batsman was the first person without an aviation background to be awarded the honorary rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force.

10. A ward in New Delhi's Tihar Jail is named after Tendulkar. Another ward in the prison is named after Vinod Kambli, with whom Tendulkar shared a 664-run unbroken partnership in a school match.