Tendulkar and the evolution of the India ODI jersey
The emperor's new clothes
During the 1992 World Cup, shortly after Tendulkar's entry into international cricket, India wore a very dark shade of blue.•Getty Images
The 1996 World Cup had all participating teams turn out in the same design, but with their own standard colour sets. Here, Tendulkar goes after Glenn McGrath in a high-intensity league match.•Getty Images
Tendulkar's zenith in ODI cricket was perhaps the Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah, 1998, when he single-handedly gave India a tournament they otherwise had no business winning. It was a time when you could get away with wearing endearingly loose jerseys. Note just how big Tendulkar's sleeves are.•AFP
The ICC Knock-Out Trophy in 2000 was a new dawn, after the match-fixing saga. Tendulkar was now the senior pro in a new-look team that liked to express itself.•Tom Shaw/Getty Images
Tendulkar walks back disappointed after falling for 4 in the 2003 World Cup final, in a jersey that's identical to the NatWest Series colours, but for the dark bands around the arms.•Getty Images
Despite India's disastrous show in that tournament, they stuck with the jerseys for a while. Here, Tendulkar poses with a Man-of-the-Match award picked up during a seven-game bilateral series in England. •Getty Images
Tendulkar's finest moment in India colours came when he was wearing a brighter shade of blue, on an unforgettable April night in Mumbai. His fans and his team-mates will take a while to get used to future designs, in which Tendulkar won't turn out for India. •Getty Images
Tendulkar had to wait 79 matches before he made his first hundred. By the time he got there, in 1994, lighter shades of blue had become synonymous with the Indian team.•Mid Day
Tendulkar soon became one of the most destructive openers in the format, as Henry Olonga found out in a Sharjah final.•JORGE FERRARI/AFP
New yellow patterns made an appearance on the India jersey for the 1999 World Cup. It was one of Tendulkar's quieter World Cups (an emotional century against Kenya notwithstanding) and India bowed out before the semi-finals.•Gerry Penny/AFP/Getty Images
The new brand of play was largely down to the leadership from Sourav Ganguly. Tendulkar slotted in well right at the top.•Paul McGregor/Getty Images
Tendulkar bowls during the Asia Cup final in 2004, one of countless finals that India lost in this period. Who knows, a change of kit might have engendered a change of fortunes.•AFP
India went back to darker shades of blue in 2009. Tendulkar played some of his best innings in this kit - 163 not out against New Zealand in Christchurch, 175 v Australia in Hyderabad (pictured here)...•Getty Images
1998 was the year of Tendulkar. He took apart Australia more than once across formats, including in the quarter-final phase of the inaugural ICC mini-World Cup. It was also a time when teams were far more imaginative with their ODI jerseys than they are now. Attires would change with every tournament, unlike the branded, standardised fare on display today that doesn't change for years on end.•AFP
Times changed, colours changes, but trends didn't. India's tour of Australia in 1999-2000 was perhaps the toughest time in the life of Tendulkar, the captain. India lost all three Tests and seven of the eight ODIs they played on that tour. The best thing about that side was perhaps the lovely blend of colours on the shirt.•Getty Images
The early 2000s was the time when cricket kit designers stopped being creative. India's NatWest Series jerseys formed the template for their ODI outfits for the next couple of years.•Paul McGregor/Getty Images
India's fans had to wait until 2007 to see their players turn out in new colours. Here Tendulkar, along with Dravid and Ganguly, inaugurates the 2007 World Cup kit.•AFP
... and 200 not out against South Africa in Gwalior - the first double-ton in ODI history.•Getty Images