What If: Sachin Tendulkar decided to become a fast bowler instead of a batsman

Sachin would gone down as a great domestic cricketer

15 November 1989 was a date which every Indian cricket fan fondly remembers. A 16-year-old unknown Mumbaikar walked out to bat in his first ever international Test for India against Pakistan at Karachi. 27 years later, there is not a single person, apart from Maria Sharapova probably who does not know who Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is.

As we fondly reminisce Sachin’s debut match, we cannot help but think about the fact that being a batsman was not his number one choice. As we all know, his dream was to be a fast bowler. It was only until former Australian legend Dennis Lillee advised him to concentrate on his batting rather than his bowling.

So, what would have happened if Lillee had not given him this advice? What if Sachin Tendulkar never became a batsman?

#5 He would have been playing first-class cricket

If it were not for Dennis Lillee and Sachin’s brother Ajit Tendulkar, Sachin Tendulkar would continue his quest to become a fast bowler. We would not have seen him come out at no. 4 in Tests or open the batting in ODIs. In fact, we probably would not have seen him don the Indian blue or white at all.

Given the fact that the Indian team produced successful fast bowlers such as Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad during Sachin Tendulkar’s time, Sachin would have been restricted to first-class cricket and not found too much success. Yes, he would have won 11 Ranji Trophies with Mumbai but would have never lifted the World Cup which India won in 2011.