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NEW DELHI — The Associated Press

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Sachin Tendulkar: 23 years of greatness!

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Harish Kotian salutes India's batting great Sachin Tendulkar, who called it quits from One-Day International cricket after a career spanning more than two decades during which he broke nearly all batting records.

He did not have the best of starts to his One-Day International career, as he registered two ducks in a row in his first two games, but by the time he hung up his boots, Sachin Tendulkar finished as the greatest batsman to have graced the limited-overs' format.

It was no sheer coincidence that the nearly-dying One-Day Internationals came alive and became a hit among the masses during the Tendulkar era that stretched from December 1989 to March 2012.

Yes, you had Viv Richards, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Javed Miandad, but there is no doubt that Tendulkar was the best batsman to have played ODIs.

No batsman had the ability or the eye to dominate bowlers or score consistently like Tendulkar did during his 23-year reign in ODIs, which saw him amass 18426 runs in 463 matches at an average of 44.83, while hitting 49 centuries and 96 fifties on the way to establishing his greatness in modern day cricket.

The next best batsman was Ricky Ponting, who finished a distant second with 13704 runs in 375 matches at an average of 42.03.

Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the best one-day batsman ever, has retired from 50-over cricket. Tendulkar played in 463 ODIs, during the course of which he scored 18,426 runs with 49 centuries and 96 half-centuries, all of them world records. He averaged 44.83 in the format and had a strike-rate of 86.23. He was also the first male cricketer to make one-day double-hundred.

In a statement given to BCCI President, N Srinivasan, Tendulkar said: "I have decided to retire from the One Day format of the game. I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup wining Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future.

"I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years."

Below are detailed Sachin stats

• Matches played: 463 (most by any player)

• Most Runs: 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83

• Most centuries: 49

• Most Fifties: 96

• Highest number of 50+ scores in ODI's – 145 (49 Centuries and 96 Fifties).

• First player to have scored over 100 innings of 50+ runs.

• Most Man of the Match awards: 62

• Most Man of the Series awards: 15

• Most ODI runs in a calendar year: 1,894 ODI runs in 1998.

• Most Centuries in a calendar year: 9 ODI centuries in 1998.

• Longest career span : 22 years 91 days.

• Between April 1990 and April 1998 Tendulkar played 185 consecutive matches – a World record.

• Tendulkar has played on 96 different grounds – most by any player.

• Only player ever to cross the 14,000-15,000-16,000-17,000 and 18,000 run marks.

• First player to reach 10,000-11,000-12,000-13,000-14,000-15,000-16,000-17,000 and 18,000 ODI runs.

• 15,310 of his runs came while opening the innings with the aid of 45 centuries and 75 fifties in 340 innings- most by an opener.

• Was the first batsman to score a double century in ODIs (200* against South Africa at Gwalior on Feb 24,2010).

• Tendulkar top-scored for India on 129 occasions – most such occasions for any player in ODIs.

• Was the first players to complete the all-round treble of 10000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches.

• Is the only player to have made three scores of 175 or more.

• Is the only player with five scores of 150 or more.

• Holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year on most occasions. He did so seven times – 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2007

• Tendulkar has scored over 1,000 ODI runs against all major Cricketing nations.

• Has played ODIs with 866 players (teammates and opponents) – most for any player in ODI history.

• Most scores in 90s: 18 (including one not out innings).

• Was involved in 99 century partnerships – most by any player.

• Tendulkar was the first batsman to score over 3,000 runs against an opponent (3,077 runs against Australia).Since then he has also done this against Sri Lanka (3,113 runs).

• Tendulkar was the fastest to reach 10,000 runs taking 259 innings and has the highest batting average among batsmen with over 10,000 ODI runs.

• His nine centuries against Australia are the most by any player against a particular country. He occupies the second place too, with eight centuries against Sri Lanka.

• Sachin Tendulkar with Sourav Ganguly holds the world record for the maximum number of runs scored by the opening partnership. They put together 6,609 runs in 136 matches that include 21 century partnerships and 23 fifty run partnerships. The 21 century partnerships for the opening pair is also a world record.

• Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid hold the world record for the highest partnership in ODIs when they scored 331 runs for the second wicket against New Zealand in 1999-00 at the Hyderabad.

• Only the second player (after Javed Miandad) to appear in SIX World Cups – from 1992 to 2011.

• Most runs (2,278) in World Cup history including 6 centuries & 15 fifties with a best score of 152 against Namibia in 2003 world cup.

• 673 runs in 2003 Cricket World Cup, highest by any player in a single World Cup.

• Tendulkar is the only Indian to score a century on ODI captaincy debut (110 v Sri Lanka at Colombo RPS on 28-08-1996).

• Tendulkar was the first Indian player to score a century and capture four wickets in the same ODI (v Australia at Dhaka on 28-10-1998).

• 11.27% of all the runs and 24.50% of all the hundreds scored by all Indian batsmen have come from Tendulkar's bat.

Performance vs countries

Performance in countries

Tendulkar at different positions

Tendulkar's mode of dismissals: Out of 411 completed innings, Sachin was caught 258 times, bowled 68 times, LBW 39 times, run-out 34 times, stumped 11 times and hit-wicket once.

A break-up of Tendulkar's scores

Tendulkar's most productive years

Tendulkar's nemesis: Tendulkar has been dismissed by Shaun Pollock, Brett Lee and Chaminda Vaas nine times, by Glenn McGrath and Heath Streak seven times and six times by Courtney Walsh, Azhar Mahmood and Abdul Razzaq.

Tendulkar's most productive series

Top run-getters in ODI Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the best one-day batsman ever, has retired from 50-over cricket. Tendulkar played in 463 ODIs, during the course of which he scored 18,426 runs with 49 centuries and 96 half-centuries, all of them world records. He averaged 44.83 in the format and had a strike-rate of 86.23. He was also the first male cricketer to make one-day double-hundred.

In a statement given to BCCI President, N Srinivasan, Tendulkar said: "I have decided to retire from the One Day format of the game. I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup wining Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future.

"I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years."

His retirement is not entirely a surprise given that he has often opted out of playing one-day series over the last few years. His last one-day innings was a half-century against arch-rivals Pakistan during the Asia Cup earlier this year. It was during the same tournament that he made his hundredth international hundred.

Tendulkar's blossoming as an ODI batsman was all the more remarkable given that he took 79 matches to make his first ODI hundred. It was his promotion to opener that changed the trajectory of his one-day career. Over 344 matches opening the batting, he scored 15,310 runs at an average of 48.29, with 45 of his 49 hundreds. His ability to take on and dominate the opposition's opening bowlers often gave India the psychological advantage even before the first ball was bowled.

He saved his best for the big occasions, averaging a staggering 56.95 with six hundreds from 45 matches across six World Cups and was the tournament's leading scorer in 2003. India's victory in the 2011 World Cup filled the one gap Tendulkar felt he had in his CV. Emphasising his ability to perform when the pressure was highest, he also averaged 54.44 in tournament finals, with six hundreds from 39 games.

Beyond the numbers, Tendulkar also left his fans with many indelible memories, from hitting a pumped up Shoaib Akhtar for six in Centurion in the 2003 World Cup to crush Pakistan's spirit to his 200 not out against South Africa in Gwalior in 2010 a few months shy of his 37th birthday.

Tendulkar's ODI career began and ended against Pakistan. He made his debut against them in 1989 in Gujranwala, where he made a duck. He was adequate in the middle order but switched to opening the batting in 1994 and made an instant impact with 82 in 49 balls against New Zealand.

The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. – Sachin Tendulkar in his retirement statement

India's victorious 2011 World Cup campaign was the culmination of a three-year plan that was set by then coach Gary Kirsten when he took over the side in 2008. In an editorial for the Hindu after India won the final, he wrote that "We set our goals as a team way back in October 2008. We wanted to become the number one ranked Test team in the world and win the World Cup". Having concrete goals and a plan to achieve them gave the team both an objective and a means of measuring their performance. There could be no excuses.

It is one thing to groom a side for home conditions, where even players new to international cricket would have had experience playing in domestic cricket. It is quite another altogether to take untested players to Australia and expect them to cope with the pace and bounce under the intense pressure of a World Cup at the first time of asking.

The 2015 World Cup in Australia is now little more than two years away. Given an Indian team in flux combined with the challenges posed by playing in Australia, it is already too late for "early", but perhaps still not too late for a process to be put in place with "right earnest".

The list of players that India will need to replace (or potentially replace) is a long one. Of the 11 players to feature in that final in Mumbai, Tendulkar has retired, while Munaf Patel and S Sreesanth have fallen far out of favour. Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag are unlikely to still be around in three years, while Gautam Gambhir's form has been patchy and Yuvraj Singh will be 34 and his health and fitness are still a question. That could leave just MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina from the World Cup winning XI. So finding replacements is not just a choice, it is a necessity.

MS Dhoni has said repeatedly that he wants a squad where everyone has played 60 or 70 ODIs. But with only two years to go and India playing about 25 ODIs a year, that is now not an option. So India will have to settle for taking players inexperienced at the highest level to Australia but they can still ensure that players gain exposure to the conditions through strategic 'A' tours. Of course, first the BCCI needs to identify the next 10 or 15 players who they think can step into the breach, and so far there has been no sign of that. Here is a list of players, some already part of the conversation, that Firstpost thinks deserve a chance to prove themselves at the highest level in limited-overs cricket:

Ajinkya Rahane (top order)

Rahane has been in the squad for over a year but his opportunities to play have been limited, which must be frustrating for the Mumbai batsman. He has a much better record in the longer format in domestic cricket, but has the potential to play the big innings even in the limited-overs format. Made 91 against England in England last year and had an outstanding 2012 IPL, which included a century for Rajasthan against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Deserves an extended run to cement a place in the side.

Mandeep Singh (top order)

After topping the run charts in last season's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – he made 268 runs from nine games at a strike-rate of 127.61 – Mandeep had a breakout 2012 IPL for Kings XI Punjab. Still only 21, Mandeep has already shown he can bat intelligently and score freely without taking too many risks. Has already shown composure well beyond his years and would add depth to India's opening positions.

Ravi Teja (opener)

The Hyderabad opening batsman was a regular selection for India's Under-19 squad and has been a consistent performer for Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy. He was the second leading-scorer in the Vijay Hazare tournament last year, scoring 361 runs at an average of 72.20 and a strike-rate of 86.15. Overall, he averages 43.69 from 35 List A games and also bowls a bit of legspin. At 25, he is entering the prime period of his career and should at least be given a chance to go on an A tour.

Suryakumar Yadav (middle order)

Yadav loves to play the big shots but does so successfully more often than not. He has a first-class strike-rate of 85.86 AND an average of 57.11. His topscore of 200, made against Orissa last season, took just 232 balls with and contained 28 fours and a six. Just 22, Yadav has the potential to be a destructive middle-order player in the mould of Kevin Pietersen, something India currently lacks.

Manoj Tiwary (middle order)

Tiwary has been given the run-around by the selectors for too long. They need to decide if he can do the job for them and keep him in the side, or move beyond him and consider other alternatives. Based on talent and ability though, he should be in the playing XI when he is fit.

Rohit Sharma (middle order)

Rohit is on the verge of turning into India's Mark Ramprakash. There is no doubting his talent but so far he has failed to make the most of it on the international stage. This is his chance to seize his spot in the side and make it his own. If he doesn't deliver, it will be time to look elsewhere.

Ambati Rayudu (middle order)

Rayudu has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket and for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Has the ability to pace his innings and play the finisher at the death. After the 2011 IPL, his teammate Harbhajan Singh called him a "a special talent" and said he could see Rayudu playing for India. Can also keep wickets so could be a useful back-up for Dhoni down under.

Ravindra Jadeja (allrounder)

Initially identified for the 2011 World Cup, Jadeja was dropped after a string of poor performances but is now back in the frame thanks to twin triple-centuries in Ranji Trophythis year. His ability as an allrounder and his brilliance in the field are advantages that would stand India in good stead in Australia, but he still needs to prove he can make important runs lower down the order outside the subcontinent.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (allrounder)

The 22-year old from Uttar Pradesh was a surprise selection of the series against Pakistan but it was due reward for his performances in domestic cricket and List A tours. He has a healthy average of 26.02 and a strike rate of 56.5, and has eight five-wicket hauls from just 46 matches. Also averages 30.29 with the bat. If he performs well against Pakistan, could well get an extended run in the side.

Ashok Dinda (fast bowler)

Injuries to Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, plus Zaheer's lack of form, has catapulted Dinda into the XI. Has a decent strike-rate of 57.3 in first-class cricket and 33.7 in List A cricket. Assuming Yadav is fit and Ishant Sharma can find his form, Dinda would be a useful third seamer, especially in helpful conditions in Australia.

Shami Ahmed (fast bowler)

Another 22-year old. Ahmed has played only 15 matches for Bengal but has already impressed over that span. On mostly unhelpful wickets, his strike-rate of 49 is exceptional and he already has two ten-wicket hauls. In List A games, his strike-rate drops to just 24.9, or one wicket every four overs. Has two five-wicket hauls from 13 matches.

Parvinder Awana (fast bowler)

Awana had a rough introduction to international cricket, giving up 71 runs from six overs in two T20 games against England and failing to pick up a wicket. But he has the ability to bowl over 140 kph and should be able to extract bounce in Australia that could make life uncomfortable for opposing batsmen.

If you want to go younger still, there are currently three under-19 cricketers worth a look. Unmukt Chand has impressed all with his calm, composed batting; left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh has the backing of former Australia captain Ian Chappell, who said Harmeet is ready to play for India; and allrounder Baba Aparajith, who has been tu

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