The off-field Sachin

As aggressive as he is on the pitch, Sachin Tendulkar is unassuming off it. Here, in 2011, he accepts sweets from schoolchildren who welcomed him as he moved into his new home in Bandra, Mumbai. © Associated Press

Tendulkar has been known to do his bit for good causes. Here he speaks to young cancer patients in Mumbai. © AFP

Tendulkar is an avid fan of old Hindi film music and one of his favourite singers is Indian playback legend Lata Mangeshkar, a huge cricket fan herself. In 2006, at a ceremony in his honour, Mangeshkar presented Tendulkar with a miniature bat made of gold. © Associated Press

Watersports? He'll have a bit of that. Sarandeep Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Tendulkar catch some waves in Barbados in 2002. © Associated Press

Tendulkar and his wife Anjali arrive at a temple in 2006. © AFP

Tendulkar meets his guru, Sathya Sai Baba, on his 80th birthday. © Associated Press

On his first international tour, to Pakistan in 1989-90, Tendulkar was already a media sensation. Here he is pictured playing tennis in Karachi.  © Getty Images

After announcing his retirement, Tendulkar said: "I have given 24 years of my life to the game. Now, it's time for my family." Here, he has a meal with his family (son Arjun in the photo) in Karachi in 2006. © Associated Press

Long a fan of cars, Tendulkar got hooked on F1 racing early in the 2000s. He told the BBC what appealed to him about the sport: "It's the speed of the cars and also the noise, the fitness level and everything that happens around Formula One racing. It's always been really exciting." Here, at the European Grand Prix in Nuremberg in 2004, he tries Mark Webber's car on for size.  © Getty Images

During the 1990s and a large part of the 2000s, Tendulkar was the biggest face in Indian advertising, and his ads often featured young fans. This one is from a shoot in 2004. © AFP

Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid jog on the Galle Face in Colombo in 2006. Sri Lanka must be a welcome destination for Indian cricket stars, because while the locals adore cricketers, they leave them alone for the most part. © Associated Press

His daughter, Sara, and his son help Tendulkar cut a cake to celebrate his 35th Test hundred, in 2005. His mother, wife and brother surround him along with other family members and friends. © Associated Press

Tendulkar is fond of his food, and not averse to getting into the kitchen. Here, he and Paul Collingwood help the chefs at a Bangalore hotel make a huge Christmas cake, during England's tour of India in 2008. © PA Photos