Why Was Sachin Tendulkar's India Debut Not Televised By Doordarshan?

Abhinav Tyagi

Sachin Tendulkar's Test debut -( Source:@IndiaTimes/X.com )Sachin Tendulkar's Test debut -( Source:@IndiaTimes/X.com )

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November 15, 1989, will go down as one of the most important and iconic dates in cricket history. The day marked the debut of India's greatest and arguably the world's best batsman, Sachin Tendulkar. 

Tendulkar, who made his international debut on November 15, 1989, went on to serve Indian cricket for 24 years and hung up his boots as the highest run-getter in international cricket and the player with most centuries across formats. 

Touted as the 'God of Cricket' the fans turned up thousands at the Wankhede Stadium on November 14, 2013, to watch their idol play for the last time. But, did you know that the world missed Tendulkar's international debut as it was not televised?

Lok Sabha Elections Behind No Broadcast Of Tendulkar's Debut Innings

It is worth noting that back in the day, only Doordarshan used to broadcast India's games and because of the ongoing 9th Lok Sabha elections' preparations, Doordarshan decided not to telecast the first two Test matches of the India-Pakistan series. 

The Lok Sabha Elections for the year were contested on November 22 and 26. The first Test match began on November 15, the second on November 23. Thus the broadcasters preferred politics over sports and there was not live broadcast of Tendulkar's international debut. 

It is worth noting that during that time, India had toured Pakistan for a four-match Test series and it resulted in 0-0 after all four games ended in a draw. Talking about Tendulkar, he scored 15 runs in the first innings and did not get to bat in the 2nd innings. Also, Tendulkar rolled his arms and bowled five overs in the match and went wicketless.