The tributes have been flowing ever since Sachin scored the world record double hundred yesterday. Here’s a compilation.

“Sachin Tendulkar has yet again re-written the record books of cricket, by climbing yet another Mt Everest of the game” – Pratibha Patil, President of India.

“Its a magnificent achievement. Sachin has led by example and all Indians are proud of his achievement” – Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India.

“There is just no question about that. He is the greatest batsman the game has ever seen.

See his record! Who else has got 90-plus centuries, 17000-plus runs in ODIs and 13000-plus runs in Test cricket? He is comfortably the greatest batsman ever” – Sunil Gavaskar

“Yes, yes, yes! Well done, Sachin my friend! Congrats and well done! (It’s) awesome.” – Shane Warne on Twitter

“It shows his mental and physical toughness. He’s a player who does not throw away his wicket once he’s set. He always places a huge price on his wicket” – Dilip Vengsarkar

“Sachin — the greatest ever player ever — without any doubt” – Lalit Modi

“What an innings it was! He came close to achieving it twice. I always felt that Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya are capable of doing that” – Kumara Sangakkara

“He is my favourite player. I had told that one day he would go on to break all batting records and now you see him scoring runs and runs” – Javed Miandad

“I think if you ask Saeed Anwar [who jointly held the previous record for highest ODI knock], he would say he’s happy that Tendulkar broke his record” – Aamir Sohail

“Whatever record is seen to be impossible to achieve, he makes it possible. That’s all I can say.

“It seems as he’s getting older, he is becoming more and more mature. No wonder Sir Donald Bradman saw himself in the way Sachin bats” – Bapu Nadkarni, Former India Test player

“It was a terrific innings and there is no one more deserving of getting that record than Tendulkar himself” – Sanjay Manjrekar (one of Sachin’s biggest critics)

“He is a classic batsman. He played authentic shots and showed you do not need to slog to play well in One-dayers” – Jacques Kallis

“Given that Sachin Tendulkar is the first man in history to get to the mark in his 21st year of international cricket, with mind and body intact through astonishing pressure and responsibility, makes the feat all the more laudable” – Anil Kumble

“He is better than Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, the other two great players of my era. Better than Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. And I would even say better than Sir Don Bradman himself.

My admiration for him is total. To steal the nickname of a certain football coach who led Inter Milan against Chelsea on Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar truly is The Special One” – Nasser Hussain

“Nobody else does deserve to get there. It’s only Sachin who deserves to scale that peak. 200 is a big score in one-day cricket. It’s not easy to get there. It took him 20 long years to get there. He has come a long way. It’s Sachin’s greatness. Records are meant to be broken. I heard somebody [Charles Coventry] equalled my record sometime ago. But I did not know him. It’s great that my friend from Mumbai Sachin broke it. I am very happy for him.” – Saeed Anwar (who scored 194 v India)

“I thought the way he celebrated when he reached his 200 epitomised the man’s persona. There was no running laps around the field, no aggressive gestures, nothing over-the-top. He did what he always does, raised both his arms, closed his eyes for a moment and quietly acknowledged that it had been done.” – Anil Kumble

I was very proud to have held the record for a little while but there could be no better man in the history of the game to break through the 200 barrier. Zimbabwe versus Bangladesh … India versus South Africa. Not quite in the same bracket, are they?” – Charles Coventry (Scored 194* v Bangladesh & held the previous world record)

“The unbeaten 200 that Sachin made at Gwalior is a benchmark for others to follow. Now, there will be lot of players who believe that they can also make 200 in an one-day international. We will wait and see.” – VVS Laxman

“He has always respected the game and is dedicated to it. But I think this is not enough for him. He is hungry and I am sure he will keep creating new records. He is a dedicated student of the game and is still keen to learn things.” – Ramakant Achrekar, Tendulkar’s childhood coach

“He has got so much class. His greatest strength is the longevity, to be able to be so successful at a young age and to still be doing the same thing 20 years on. We’re blessed to still have such a great player playing this game.” – Michael Clarke

“It’s really amazing. I am honoured to share the dressing room with him” – MS Dhoni

“To have an Indian as the highest run-getter is an honour. We had Sunil Gavaskar in the past and now Sachin has regained that record for us.” – Kris Srikanth

“His records may be overhauled but his grace would be unmatchable” – Rameez Raja

“He always appeared very cool when he was playing and even otherwise. That was the hallmark of his greatness.” – Gundappa Vishwanath

“Sachin – the greatest ever player ever – without any doubt… I salute Sachin… World’s greatest sportsman. We can see him only rise. (He is an) inspiration to us all. He is the best.” – Lalit Modi

“I think Tendulkar has outdone all the other greats with his hunger for the game which is amazing” – Abdul Qadir, ex-Pakistan cricket

“What has impressed me the most about Tendulkar all these years is his humble and simple nature. I never saw him ever let the fame and adulation he enjoys get to his head” – Inzamam-ul-Haq

“I had heard a lot of about him when I first played against him but what struck me was his simple nature. I don’t recall a match in which I saw him being over-aggressive, brash or sledge someone. That is what makes him such a great cricketer. He uses aggression to his own benefit” – Rashid Latif

“There was perfection in his batting then and it is the same now. Obviously he is a human being and he has also failed many times but overall I don’t think I have seen a bigger batsman than him in my time” – Moin Khan

February 25th, 2010
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: Arjun