New book on Tendulkar released on his 36th birthday

A new book on champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who celebrates his 36th birthday today in South Africa where he is leading Mumbai Indians in the IPL, was released here to mark the occasion.The book, titled 'If Cricket Is a Religion, Sachin is God', authored by two graduates of IIM (Ahmedabad), Vijay Santhanam and Shyam Balasubramaniam, was unveiled by billiards ace Geet Sethi and former India Test skipper Nari Contractor today.Green baize master Sethi paid glorious tributes to Tendulkar and questioned the title of the book itself."No need to ask, cricket is a religion in our country and Tendulkar is the epitome of it. There's a huge visibility to Sachin, but I look beyond visibility. I look at his character and hunger (for the game)", Sethi said."He's one of the greatest sportspersons of our times and surely the finest cricketer of our times," the cue ace said.Sethi said what was most remarkable about Tendulkar was the way he has handled himself and his fame right from his early teens."A guy like (Swedish tennis legend) Bjorn Borg quit the game at the age of 24, unable to handle the fame and money.