Sachin Tendulkar has announced he will retire from cricket after his 200th Test for India against the West Indies next month.
It brings to an end one of the most decorated international cricketing careers the game has witnessed.
TENDULKAR FACTFILE
1973: Born 24 April, Mumbai.
1988: Scores 100 not out in his first first-class match for Bombay against Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy becoming the youngest cricketer to score a century on his first-class debut, aged 15 years and 232 days.
1989: Makes Test debut for India against Pakistan in Karachi at the age of 16.
Playing ping pong in 1989
December: Makes ODI debut against Pakistan but is dismissed by Waqar Younis without scoring a run.
1990: Scores maiden Test century against England at Old Trafford.
1992: At the age of 19 he becomes the first overseas-born player to represent Yorkshire.
Sachin the Yorkie
1994: 9 September - Claims his first ODI century against Sri Lanka in Colombo after 79 one-day matches.
1996: Leading run scorer at World Cup played in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with a total of 523 runs.
August: Takes on the India captaincy although suffers two relatively unsuccessful stints during a four-year period, winning only four Tests and 23 ODIs.
Sachin Tendulkar Turns 42
1997: Named Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
1998: Scores his first double century for Mumbai against Australia in the Brabourne Stadium.
1999: November - Involved in India's highest run-scoring ODI partnership with Rahul Dravid as the pair put on 339 against New Zealand. In the same match, he records the highest individual ODI score in Indian history with an unbeaten 186.
The Little Master and The Wall
2000: Gives up the captaincy of India after the two-Test series with South Africa.
2001: Given a suspended ban of one game in light of alleged ball tampering during a match against South Africa at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. The ban is later lifted by the International Cricket Council after an investigation.
2003: Named the Player of the Tournament at the 2003 Cricket World Cup and scores 673 runs, the highest by any player in the tournament.
Tendulkar with Sir Garfield Sobers and his 2003 award
2005: Overtakes Sunil Gavaskar's record of the highest number of Test centuries by claiming his 35th against Sri Lanka in Delhi.
2006: Overtakes Kapil Dev claiming the record for the highest amount of Test appearances for India with 135.
2007: 3 January - Edges past Brian Lara's world record of runs scored in Tests away from home with 5,751 runs.
Two of cricket's greatest batsmen
June: Becomes the first player to score over 15,000 ODI runs during a match against South Africa in Belfast.
2008: March - Plays a record-breaking 417th ODI match against Australia.
August - Becomes just the third player in Test match history, and the first from India, to play 150 matches when he is selected in the third Test against Sri Lanka.
June: Nominated as the 'Icon Player' of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, signing a deal worth US Dollars 1,121,250 per season.
17 October - Becomes the highest run scorer in Test cricket, passing Lara's previous mark of 11,953, when he reaches 16 in the first innings of the second Test against Australia.
2010: 24 February - Scores the first double century in one-day international history, hitting an unbeaten 200 against South Africa.
April - Named player of IPL3 after finishing as the tournament's top run-scorer.
3 August - Becomes most capped player in Test history, making his 169th Test appearance in the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo to overtake former Australia captain Steve Waugh.
19 December - Becomes first batsman to hit 50 Test centuries, achieving the feat against South Africa in Centurion.
2011: March - Hits two tournament centuries as co-hosts India win the World Cup.
November: Becomes the first man to score 15,000 Test runs during Test series against West Indies.
2012: March - Scores his 100th international century in an Asia Cup match against Bangladesh, the first player ever to do so.
23 December - Announces retirement from one-day international cricket.
2013: 10 October - Announces he will retire from Test cricket after playing in his 200th Test against the West Indies in November.