Happy birthday to the former Indian cricket team captain and legend Sachin Tendulkar.Cricket's biggest icon, Sachin Tendulkar, celebrated his 48th birthday on Saturday. The Master Blaster, a name that he has always been associated with, was born in April 24, 1973 and ever since his introduction to the international arena has remained a prominent figure in the history of the sport.Tendulkar announced his retirement from cricket back in 2013, two years after winning his first and only ICC World Cup. He was last seen in action during the Road Safety World Series, which his team won after defeating Tillakaratne Dilshan's Sri Lanka Legends in the summit clash.The real contribution by Sachin Tendulkar to Indian cricket is not the runs he scored or the matches he won. The main contribution by Sachin was the way he changed the opening in ODI cricket. He was given an opportunity to open against New Zealand in New Zealand in 1992 and he made it count. Thus, a very different dimension of Sachin Tendulkar came into light. The major contribution of runs scored by him in ODI cricket is by opening the batting for India. Thus, India got one of the reliable openers in Sachin who can also score at more than run a ball. Soon after he started opening, India started to get good starts and opposition were under pressure right from the start. Thus, there have been many match winnings innings by Sachin since he started opening. One such inning that comes to mind is the ‘desert storm’. He scored two back to back hundreds against the mighty Australians in 1996 and won the series for India.One of the things that made Sachin great was to score against the big sides. He consistently scored hundreds against big teams like Australia, England, and Pakistan. Also, he still is the player with the highest runs against Australia. This in itself shows the caliber of Sachin Tendulkar. Australia in those days was termed as the invincibles. Playing against Australia was always the toughest challenge that a batsman can face in those days. But for Sachin, it was just like scoring against any other team.Sachin Tendulkar will always be remembered as one who changed the Indian cricket and made it a powerhouse. Sachin Tendulkar was born to play cricket only.Tendulkar was considered as a bully in his early schooling years. To keep him from being mischievous, he was introduced to the gentleman’s game. He took a very fond liking to this sport and practised endlessly for days and nights. To motivate him further, his coach used to put a one-rupee coin on his stumps and say that whoever could dismiss little Sachin, would be the winner of the coin. And if no one could get him out, then the coin would rightfully be given to Tendulkar himself. Tendulkar still considers his thirteen won coins as one of his most invaluable possessions.Indian selectors noticed Sachin in a school tournament game. He was selected to represent Bombay in the Ranji Trophy at the age of fourteen. Before playing as a complete opening batsman for India, Sachin also played his part as a ball boy and as a substitute. In his test match debut against Pakistan, he took a blow to his nose by the ball bowled to him by Waqar Younis. He did not take any medical assistance even though blood was gushing out and continued to deliver excellent innings.After this, Tendulkar even managed to hit two centuries against the Australian team, which was considered as invincible during those times. In 1996, Sachin Tendulkar took over as the captain of the Indian cricket team for two continuous tenures. Unfortunately, he could not live up to the expectations and hopes of his country’s people as a captain and the Indian teamed performed below par or poorly under his captain-ship. He was the one who recommended and suggested the name of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to be chosen for the captaincy post to the then BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) president, Sharad Pawar.