India wears national mourning because of this poster boy

In India, he is better known than any Bollywood star. Now Sachin Tendulkar is ending his cricket career and retiring to his 6000-square-meter villa by the sea. He can't even go to the movies in disguise.

There were no posters hanging on the wall of Sachin Tendulkar's childhood bedroom, which did not deserve its name. Instead, barren, unplastered walls protected him and his brother Ajit from the blistering heat that turns Mumbai into a steaming cauldron during the summer months. The room, just a few square meters in size, doubled as the two boys' bedroom, storage room, and library for his literature-crazed father. The nanny who accompanied Sachin Tendulkar through the first eleven years of his life also did the laundry for the family of six here. In such lives, there is no room to hang adored celebrities on the wall. It was he who was the main star in singles betting at the cricket betting sites.

Today, Tendulkar watches over almost every Indian nursery with his stern gaze. A recent study by the Times of India found that no other Indian has had more posters made of him than the man they call in the Eastern Hemisphere simply the "GoC": the God of Cricket. The fact that he will be appearing in the 200th and final international match of his career on Thursday has his opponents breathing a sigh of relief. It brings his countrymen to the brink of national mourning.

The 40-year-old's merits for his sport are only comparable to those of Pelé for soccer or Michael Jordan for basketball. The most runs, the most centuries, the best batting average, the first overseas player ever to play for the legendary Yorkshire Cricket Club - Tendulkar holds every relevant record, a total of 65. While his name usually only triggers clueless headshaking in this country, for the Indian population he is a kind of anchor in the storm of social upheaval in times of dwindling orientation.

The resignation announcement shocked the country

When he announced his resignation about three weeks ago, all the country's major TV channels interrupted their broadcasts. Reports of the devastating floods that had claimed more than 500 lives were eclipsed by hours of special broadcasts about the favorite son of 1.2 billion Indians.

"We respect his decision, although a national team without him is beyond the imagination of us all," said the president of the Indian Cricket Association, with tears in his eyes. "He has been an inspiration to generations of sportsmen. He is without a doubt the greatest player our country has ever produced." Although he is one of the smallest players at 1.65 meters, he uses the heaviest bat. Even as a child, he hit balls off the pitch most elegantly; even at the comparatively advanced age of 40, each swing looked light as a feather. "Through him, God shows his love for cricket," his Australian all-time rival Ricky Ponting once said of him: "I've never seen a player with better technique."

When Tendulkar played, public life rested. Trains stopped at train stations so people could admire their idol's performances on television screens, and parliamentary sessions were interrupted. When Tendulkar once wanted to take his wife to the movies a few years ago, he stuck an artificial beard on his face to avoid being crushed by his fans. The camouflage didn't even last until the entrance.

Tendulkar earns 20 million euros a year

The exact background to his retirement has not been explained to this day by the best-earning sportsman in Indian history, with an estimated annual income of 20 million euros, who lives in seclusion with his wife and two children in a 6,000-square-meter villa overlooking the sea. "I lived my dream every single day for 24 years," he said only in his soft voice: "It's hard to imagine my life without cricket."

The sport made him more popular than Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan and more influential than Prime Minister Singh. He donates large portions of his income to his destitute countrymen, the majority of whom have to live on one euro a day. In the fragmented country with its 23 official languages and seven different religions, Tendulkar has often been the last cement.

For days after Tendulkar's retirement announcement, Mumbai and Kolkata fought over the right to host the historic final match. In the end, Tendulkar's hometown won and starting Thursday, Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium will host a five-day match against the West Indies. Hundreds of thousands are set to make the pilgrimage to the city on the west coast to pay their final respects to the man who gave them their first World Cup title in almost 30 years in 2011.

Cricket is where the big money is

For them, the career of the "little master" also marks the end of the final chapter of traditional cricket, played on the streets and backyards. As in European soccer, commercialization is taking hold in India; among the 50 sports teams with the highest budgets in the world are five Indian cricket teams and only one Bundesliga soccer team. For the spectators, Tendulkar has remained one of them amidst the spectacle of millions.

The countless advertising contracts and his passion for Ferraris do nothing to change that. This passion was awakened in 2002 by none other than Michael Schumacher. On the occasion of setting the then-record of 29 centuries (100 runs per game), the Scuderia invited him to the Grand Prix of Great Britain, the only European country to share the Pacific enthusiasm for cricket.

After a dinner together, during which Tendulkar explained the basics of his complex profession to the Kerpen native, the then Ferrari driver ceremoniously presented him with a "360 Modena." After returning to India, the authorities waived the six-figure import tax due to Tendulkar. The outcry that went through the country was so loud that a trial was scheduled for the following spring. Fiat, which sells millions of small cars a year in India, avoided a PR disaster by paying the amount due at the last minute.

McEnroe as a role model

The right-hander, who once started hitting balls with a racket out of admiration for tennis icon John McEnroe, learned his lesson. He sold the Ferrari, resigned as captain of the national team, and withdrew even further into private life. The fear now is that after his farewell game, he will emerge from it even less often than he already does.

With sad expressions, his fans will raise for the last time on Thursday the banner that for years has flown from the stands at matches of the Indian selection, reported https://www.nerdynaut.com/which-is-better-online-casinos-with-a-license-or-european-offshore. "Commit all sins when Sachin bats. They will go unnoticed because God's eyes are only on him!" it reads in large letters. Starting next week, God will have to find a new hobby.