What if..? Sachin Tendulkar’s career started when he actually retired

Sachin Tendulkar- The best to have graced the game

Sachin Tendulkar is unarguably the best batter the game of cricket has ever seen. From the records to the elegance to the attitude that he played cricket with, everything just speaks of one thing and that is- Class. 

Sachin’s career in the international arena lasted for 24 years. Leaving everything aside, to maintain the mental fitness in order to compete at the highest level for so long in itself is a rare and a great feat. To go with the longevity there are the wonders he did with his bat, no wonder we call him the ‘God of Cricket.’

Sachin in action versus Australia (PC: Twitter)

For a significant time in his career Sachin carried the hopes and the burdens of the Indian team alone. Slowly he started to receive the support of players like Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag, Dhoni and later on players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and others. 

Sachin Tendulkar retired from international cricket in December, 2013. But what if it was at this time he started playing in the international arena?

ODI Career

 With the new rules of fielding restrictions and other batting favourable rules in place Sachin would have been an even prolific run scorer. Let us look at how Sachin fared in his ODI career. 

Sachin Tendulkar ODI record

In an era when the bowlers were Wasim Akram, Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Waqar Younis and many such great names, Tendulkar maintained the staggering numbers throughout his career. 

We will speak about what could have been his numbers in the modern era in a little while.

Test Career

The records in ODI format undoubtedly prove that Sachin was the uncrowned king of the format. Let us look at his numbers in the longest format of the game. 

Sachin Tendulkar Test Record

T20I cricket

Sachin has played just 1 T20I in his career, a sample number that is not at all enough. So, we will try to predict his numbers in the shortest format on the basis of his IPL performance. 

What If Numbers

If Sachin started his career in 2013, one thing has to be said the longevity of his career might not have been the same. With the workload of the players in recent times, a 24 years career seems a bit far-fetched. Also the fact that nowadays a player has to pass through under 19 and A-team performances to make it to the international set up is also to be kept in mind. 

Keeping in mind all the factors such as- Workload, Bowling quality, restrictions on bowlers and fielders nowadays and the stages to be passed before reaching the international level, we will try and predict the career numbers of Sachin if it started from 2013. 

Sachin's possible numbers if he played in this era

The number with which Tendulkar retired already reflects his greatness. Given if he played in the modern era, the career might not had the same longevity but a talent like Tendulkar would have ruled the cricketing world in any given era. 

Also Read: What if..? Virat Kohli was never made the Test captain?