Making his first Test hundred at the age of 17 against England he has racked up the records in a 19-year career . In 2000 he became the first batsman to score 50 international hundreds , and is the highest scorer in One Day internationals . He joined an elite group in 2007 when he became only the third player to pass 11,000 runs in Test cricket . Nicknames in cricket are common , but only if you 're a really exceptional player do you get one that 's complementary . Tendulkar has joined that elite as the `` Little Master '' which sits nicely next to other great batsmen , Viv `` Master Blaster '' Richards and Brian `` The Prince '' Lara . But perhaps no higher praise came from Australian cricketing legend Donald Bradman who once said that Tendulkar was the only player that reminded him of himself . Like all sportsmen he 's suffered from injury , and now 35-years-old , many are wondering if his best days are behind him . Playing for India against England and Australia last summer and at the beginning of 2008 , many commentators thought that his normal aggression and
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In India he 's an icon and to the rest of the cricketing world he 's simply known as one of the greatest ever batsmen . One the game 's greats , Sachin Tendulkar is more than just a player in India , he 's an icon . Sachin Tendulkar picked up a bat at the age of 4 in Mumbai and from that day on fell in love with the game . `` The only thing that was on my mind was , ' I want to play for India one day , ' and I was pretty sure and confident that one day I will , '' he told CNN in Mumbai . In fact he made his Test debut for India at the age of 16 facing Pakistan 's fearsome bowling attack , just two years after making his first-class debut for Mumbai . Despite a baptism of fire in that first international match and getting hit on the mouth by a ball from Waquar Younis , he took his own game forward and has become known for the positivity of his play and the compact efficiency and brilliance of his shot-making .