Tendulkar set to become most-capped Test player
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COLOMBO: Iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar is all set to add another milestone in his illustrious career by becoming the most-capped Test cricketer when he plays in the third and final match of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old champion batsman, who holds almost every batting record that is there in international cricket, will overtake retired former Australian captain Steve Waugh when he plays in the 169th match of his career tomorrow.
Tendulkar, who has been around for two decades now, has also played 442 one-day internationals, just a couple of matches less than Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya's record of 444.
Tendulkar has scored 13,742 runs in 168 Tests at an average of 56.08, notching up 48 hundreds and 55 half-centuries in the process.
He has 17,598 runs, including 46 centuries, in his 442 one-dayers. The Mumbaikar also holds the distinction of being the first batsman to score a double hundred in ODIs.
But despite these astonishing feats, Tendulkar remains hungry for more runs and after getting his fifth Test double hundred in the second Test against Sri Lanka, the diminutive batsman urged critics to stop talking about his age.
"As long as you are mentally strong and prepared to go through the grind, age really does not matter," Tendulkar said after the drawn Test here.
"I think everyone should just stop talking about the age factor. If I can score a double hundred at 37, I don't think age really matters."
Most capped Test players so far:
168 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND)
168 - Steve Waugh (AUS) - retired
156 - Allan Border (AUS) - retired
146 - Ricky Ponting (AUS)
145 - Shane Warne (AUS) - retired
141 - Rahul Dravid (IND)
140 - Jacques Kallis (RSA)
134 - Mark Boucher (RSA).
