Sachin Tendulkar becomes 5th Indian to have portrait at MCC Museum; legendary cricketer rings iconic Lord's bell
SACHIN Tendulkar became the fifth Indian cricketer to have their portrait at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) museum, just before the start of the third Test against England at the iconic Lord's on Thursday.
The portrait, by artist Stuart Pearson Wright, will remain at the MCC Museum until later this year when it will be relocated to the Pavilion.
The picture in the portrait is taken from a photograph 18 year's ago in Tendulkar's home in Mumbai. The abstract background illustrates Tendulkar's timelessness, unrestricted by any era. Besides Tendulkar, the MCC museum also has portraits of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Kapil Dev, Bishan Singh Bedi and Dilip Vengsarkar, among Indians.
Notably, the portraits of Kapil, Bishan Singh, Vengsarkar and Tendulkar have been painted by Pearson Wright. Unlike the previous paintings, which were full-length, the portrait of Tendulkar is a larger-than-life image of his head and shoulders.
The Lord’s Portrait Programme has been running in its current form for three decades. MCC has been collecting art and artefacts since the Victorian period and opening a dedicated museum in the 1950s, thus making it the oldest sporting museum in Europe. The Long Room Gallery is the oldest and most iconic gallery in sport.
It’s a huge honour, says Sachin Tendulkar
One of the greatest batters India has ever produced, Tendulkar played international cricket for 24 years from 1989 to 2013 and scored 34,357 runs across formats. Speaking at the honour, Tendulkar said “This is truly special.” “It’s a huge honour. In 1983, when India won the World Cup, it was my first introduction to Lord’s. I saw our captain, Kapil Dev, lift the trophy,” said Tendulkar.
"That moment sparked my cricketing journey. Today, with my portrait going up inside the Pavilion, life feels like it’s come full circle. When I reflect on my career, it brings a smile to my face. This is truly special," added the 2011 ODI World Cup winners.
Pearson Wright said: “It was clear that MCC didn’t want this portrait to be in the same format as the previous Indian cricket portraits I made, so a fresh approach was taken with this one. I decided on a composition which focused more on Sachin’s head and also using a heroic larger-than-lifesize scale to give the painting a sense of gravitas and power.”
Sachin Tendulkar rings iconic Lord's bell
After his portrait was unveiled, Tendulkar also rang the Lord's bell to announce the start of the India vs England third Test, thus adding a another feather in the hat. While Tendulkar has achieved almost everything in cricket, this was the first time the legendary figure rang the bell at the iconic stadium. Incidentally, the series is being renamed after him - Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
