Life comes ‘full circle’ for Tendulkar with his portrait at Lord’s

It seems to be the summer of Sachin Tendulkar in England this year. After the winners’ trophy for the ongoing India-England Test series was renamed the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, albeit with a fair share of controversy at the removal of Tiger Pataudi’s legacy, the Little Master earned pride of place when his portrait was unveiled at the MCC Museum at Lord’s on Thursday morning.

A visibly moved Tendulkar looked on as he and Mark Nicholas unveiled the portrait by artist Stuart Pearson Wright on the first day of the third Test. This is only the fifth portrait of an Indian player in MCC’s Collections, four of which (Kapil Dev, Bishan Singh Bedi, Dilip Vengsarkar and Tendulkar) have been painted by Wright. Tiger Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi is the fifth Indian great on their walls.

The portrait, done by oil on abraded aluminium, will remain in the MCC Museum until later this year when it will be relocated to the Pavilion. Unlike the previous paintings which were full-length, the portrait of Tendulkar is a larger-than-life image of his head and shoulders and painted from a photograph taken by the artist in Tendulkar’s home in Mumbai 18 years ago.

Taking to his X handle, Tendulkar reflected: ‘’I first visited Lord’s as a teenager in 1988, and returned in 1989 with the Star Cricket Club team. I remember standing near the pavilion, soaking in the history and dreaming quietly. Today, to have my portrait unveiled at this very place is a feeling that's hard to put into words. Life has truly come full circle. I’m grateful, and filled with wonderful memories.’’

 It took nearly 12 years after his retirement for the man with all conceivable batting records to find a place in the MCC Museum, though ironically enough, Tendulkar does not boast of an enviable record at the so called ‘home of cricket.’ He has scored just 195 runs across five matches and nine innings at the Lord’s at an average of 21.66 with a best score of 37. This is an area where ‘Colonel’ Vengsarkar stands head and shoulders among Indian batters with three Test centuries in four Tests at the hallowed venue.

Tendulkar, has incidentally played eight matches across all formats at the venue, aggregating 240 runs at an average of 20 with best score of 37. This contrasts with his healthy Test returns in England, having made 1,575 runs in 17 Tests and 30 innings at an average of 54.31 with four centuries and eight fifties.

 The prolific run extends to all formats in England where he has made 2626 runs in 43 matches and 56 innings at an average of 49.54, with seven centuries and 12 fifties. His highest score during England visits was an epic 193, which came off 330 balls, in a match which India won by an innings and 46 runs.