5 Indian players who debuted after Sachin Tendulkar but retired before him ft. Rahul Dravid
It's been 10 years since batting legend Sachin Tendulkar retired from international cricket. It just seems like yesterday that Tendulkar played his last Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against the West Indies.
Tendulkar had an illustrious international career that spanned for 24 years. From scoring the most Test and ODI runs to scoring 100 international centuries, the Mumbai-born batter dominated bowling attacks on all sorts of wickets.
Tendulkar played for a long period of more than two decades i.e. from 1989 to 2013 and played with numerous cricketers during his career. On that note, here is a look at five superstars of Indian cricket who made their debut after Sachin Tendulkar but retired before him:
#1 Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid played 146 Tests alongside Tendulkar, the most by any pair of cricketers in the history of Test career.
Dravid made his ODI and Test debut in 1996 when Tendulkar had already made a name for himself and was on the verge of greatness.
Dravid, quietly and gradually cemented his place in the Indian Test and ODI team, and scored more than 10,000 runs each in both formats. He combined with Sachin Tendulkar and laid the foundation of many famous Indian wins.
Though Dravid made his debut nearly eight years after Tendulkar, he called it a day from international cricket in 2012, i.e., a year before Tendulkar.
#2 Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly's partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs were a delight to watch. The duo added 8,227 runs from 176 innings at an average of nearly 48.
Ganguly and Tendulkar were known to dominate bowling attacks in the 50-over format.
The left-handed batter made his ODI debut in 1992, while he played his first Test match in 1996. Ganguly was an integral part of the Indian team in the late 1990s and 2000s and captained India to famous wins at home as well as overseas.
Ganguly retired from international cricket in 2008 and is regarded as one of the best to lead India.
#3 VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman played 120 Tests alongside Sachin Tendulkar and scripted many special wins for India together.
Laxman made his Test debut nearly seven years after Tendulkar and ODI debut after nine years. The former Indian cricketer was a force to reckon with in the middle order and stitched together many famous partnerships with Tendulkar.
Laxman last played a Test match in January 2012 and called it a day from international cricket soon thereafter.
#4 Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble, the most successful Indian bowler, made his Test debut nearly nine months after Tendulkar made his debut. He was a match-winner on his day and has 956 international wickets across all formats, the most by an Indian bowler.
Kumble played 132 Tests for India and 122 of them were alongside Sachin Tendulkar. The celebrated leg-spinner had a long and illustrious career before he played his last Test for India in 2008.
Kumble briefly captained Tendulkar during 2007-2008 and the duo of Tendulkar and Kumble were a part of many Indian victories at home and overseas in the 1990s and mid-2000s.
# 5 Javagal Srinath
The former Indian pacer made his Test and ODI debut in 1991, i.e., three years after Tendulkar's debut. Javagal Srinath was one of the rare Indian pacers in the 1990s who could clock high speeds and won the country many games.
Srinath played international cricket for nearly 12 years before he called it a day in 2003, i.e., 10 years before the Master Blaster.
The pacer from Mysore picked up 551 international wickets. Post-retirement, he is a successful and respected match referee and has officiated in 65 Tests, 268 ODIs, and 118 T20Is.