Sachin Tendulkar, considered to be the greatest batsman of all time by many, announced his retirement from cricket, which meant that he will not play any form of the game after his 200th Test match against the West Indies in November. The inevitable happened on the 10th of October, which, for an entire generation of Indians, will remain as a historic day. Television, news channels, tabloids, newspapers, magazines and websites across the world covered this revelation, which, although, was on the cards but still came as a shock to everyone. Comments and tributes have flown in from fans, seniors, colleagues and the media, who have thanked him for his contribution to the game.
Even if it is hard to believe, there are other passions that exist in the life of Sachin Tendulkar, who is considered to be the God of cricket by many. His biggest passion after cricket, perhaps, is cars, something that all Tendulkar fans are aware of. Over the years, Tendulkar has been associated with a number of car brands and has owned numerous high-end models as well. But if one was to pinpoint on one manufacturer that has really found the liking of the Little Master, it is German car maker BMW. Sachin Tendulkar's association with BMW became official in 2012, when the German auto maker made the cricketer its brand ambassador. This was the second occasion when the batting maestro was associated with a car company, following his collaboration with Fiat in the year 2001 for the Palio. Sources close to the cricketer claim that he has a distinct passion for BMW cars due to their power levels and advanced technology systems.
According to reports, the Master Blaster owns the X5, E60 M5 and 7 Series models from the Bavarian based car manufacturer. BMW, on its part, has made full use of the popularity of Tendulkar to promote its vehicles. The former Mumbai Indians skipper was a part of the commercial launched by the company to promote the 1 Series model, wherein he appeared alongside Armaan Ebrahim, the country's young racing talent. According to reports, Tendulkar, apart from BMW, owned a number of cars like Mercedes-Benz R129 SL600, Volvo S80, Ferrari Modena 360 (sold now), Nissan GTR and Audi Q7.
It must be noted that the year 2013, so far, has not been so good for BMW, something that can be attributed to a few reasons. In the first place, conditions in the market have not been conducive for car makers, who have suffered due to the continuously depreciating value of the rupee and slowdown in demand. Apart from this, sales of the German car maker have been dealt a blow by the performances of its rivals, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Although both its rivals have done well, sales figures achieved by Mercedes-Benz have tremendously affected BMW. Interestingly, the brand with three pointed star took the first mover advantage by launching its A-Class hatchback. To compete with this hatchback from Mercedes-Benz, BMW introduced 1 Series premium hatchback in September 2013. Further stepping up the ante, the auto maker launched the facelift version of 5 Series on 10th of October.
Tendulkar's retirement has evoked a nationwide response movement and everyone is eagerly waiting to see their hero walk on a 22-yard strip for the last time. The Indian maestro, like he has always done, made a low key announcement through a press release from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). In the statement released, the legend said, “I look forward to playing my 200th Test Match on home soil, as I call it a day. All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years. It’s hard for me to imagine a life without playing because it’s all I have ever done since I was 11 years old.”
