Sachin Tendulkar declared Greatest Test batsman of the 21st century by Star Sports
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar on Saturday was named the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time) of the 21st century by Star Sports in the batsman’s category. One of India’s leading sports broadcasters, Star Sports came up with a one-of-a-kind initiative to celebrate the rich history of Test cricket by picking the best cricketers across categories – batsmen, bowlers, all-rounders and captains.
The voting opened on June 15 across Star Sports’ social media channels, with Tendulkar as one of the nominees alongside Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Jacques Kallis (South Africa) and Steve Smith (Australia). Tendulkar was picked as the winner on the basis of the number of votes received (70.3%) and the jury’s decision. The announcement was made during the ‘Cricket Live’ segment of the ongoing World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand.
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Selection process
The nominees for this distinction were carefully picked by a 50-member jury of renowned ex-cricketers, journalists and broadcasters. All the stats and numbers from and after January 1, 2000 were considered as a criteria for selection. What followed was a shortlisting process of four final nominees by the panel. Fans were then given a chance to vote for their favourite cricketer over four days.
In a glorious cricketing career spanning decades together, Tendulkar represented India in 200 Tests, 463 ODIs and one T20I. His 34,357 international runs included a record 100 centuries with a highest score of 248* (Tests) and 200* (ODIs) respectively. Tendulkar’s prolific run-scoring earned him several accolades over the years, with the recent ones being a place in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Laureus World Sports Award for Best Sporting Moment (2000–2020) in 2020.
