What if: IPL had started in 2000

#2 Sachin Tendulkar would have held most of the batting records

Sachin could well have swept all the batting records

Arguably the best batsman the world has seen in the last three decades and to many, the best ever – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar had toyed with bowling attacks throughout his career. And what is truly amazing is the fact that he has stayed true to being a student of the game and has evolved his batting as years have passed.

Whilst most of the stalwarts like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman struggled to get a grip on the demands of T20 cricket, Tendulkar was the only one from that generation of batsmen to get better as time wore on. In his six years in the IPL (at the twilight of his career), the man from Mumbai amassed 2334 runs at an average of 34.83 whilst striking at near 120. This includes an orange cap in the 2010 season.

With nearly eight more years added to his cap and at the prime of his career, one wouldn’t put it beyond the talisman to reach certain milestones that would have looked impossible to replicate.