Following is a compilation of quotes from current and former cricketers and other eminent personalities paying tribute to Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar:

When you bowl at him you are not just trying to get him out, you are trying to impress him. "I want him to walk off thinking 'that Flintoff, he's all right isn't he? I feel privileged to have played against him. - Andrew Flintoff

He is 99.5% Perfect.. I'll pay to watch him play. I think he is marvellous. I think he will fit in whatever category of Cricket that has been played or will be played, from the first ball that has ever been bowled to the last ball that's going to be. He can play in any era and at any level.  - Viv Richards

I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes. - Sir Don Bradman

In the recently concluded IPL when Sachin drove Ishant Sharma to a straight drive, he said- "Open the text book..turn to page no. 32" - Harsha Bhogle

I have seen GOD , he bats at no.4 for India in Tests. - Matthew Hayden

Sachin Tendulkar should get Bharat Ratna for his services to the game and he deserves it the most. - Yuvraj Singh.

His life seems to be a stillness in a frantic world... (When he goes out to bat), it is beyond chaos - it is a frantic appeal by a nation to one man. - Matthew Hayden

We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin. - Mark Taylor

If I had to bowl to Sachin I would bowl with a halmet on. He hits the ball so hard. - Dennis Lillie

Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours. - Michael Kasprowicz

Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar. - BBC Sports

Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it. - Hashim Amla

"He has everything a top batsman needs. Tendulkar is a classic example of a player being so good that his age is an irrelevance"- Alaister Campbell

"In an over I can bowl six different balls. But then Sachin looks at me with a sort of gentle arrogance down the pitch as if to say 'Can you bowl me another one?'" - Adam Hollioke

"Tujhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?" (Do you know who you've dropped) - Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq during a match.

"His mind is like a computer. He stores data on bowlers and knows where they are going to pitch the ball."  - Navjot Singh Sidhu

The more I see him, the more I want to see him. - Azhar

"It can be said that he is the Bradman of our times and I do feel privileged to have played a lot of cricket against him." - Former Australian captain Steve Waugh.

"I think, apart from Sir Garfield Sobers nobody else has played 20 years in international cricket and 20 years playing at the very highest level and to the very highest standard is an achievement beyond compare." - Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.

"He continues to give more than 100 per cent and his schoolboy-like enthusiasm for the game is something I envy and admire. For the team he is the best available coaching manual." - Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"There will never be another Sachin Tendulkar." - Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiash Muralitharan.

"The way he has taken on the role of India's greatest sporting ambassador... He has, among other things, inspired a generation and more to play cricket." - India's 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev.

"His humbleness and simplicity has helped him to achieve what others could not. His dedication is one of the main reasons for his achievements and he is role model to up and coming youngsters. In India every youngster who is in to school or college cricket wants to become a Sachin." - Former captain and Chairman of India's selection panel Kris Srikkanth.

"What I admire about Sachin is his humility, respect for elders and the passion for the game that he has retained even after so many years and after achieving so much in cricket. He has not changed at all." - Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar.

"He is a great human being, a great player and I have been very lucky to have a friend like Sachin Tendulkar. I want to wish him all the luck. I want to congratulate him for finishing his 20 years in international cricket. He has dominated world cricket for 20 years and I hope that he will continue to dominate it." - Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

"I have delayed my shoots many times to watch Sachin bat" - Filmstar Amitabh Bachchan.

"...when he is in full flow, the mild-mannered boyish cricketer can look extremely intimidating. If there is a resonance, I find of myself in his batting, it is in that intent that he communicates." - Former West Indies captain and batting great Vivian Richards.

"Over the years Sachin has remained remarkably consistent and has more records than anybody I can remember. His talent and versatility are unquestioned which is why the only question that rankles is why he did not win enough games for his team?" - Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan.

"His biggest strength as a batsman is his adaptability. And that is something really. really amazing, something so special." - Former India captain Sourav Ganguly.

"In his life cricket comes first. When he is on tour he is thinking about nothing but cricket, and when he is not on tour he dedicates quality time to his family. That shows his dedication to the game and to his family. He has found the right balance." - Tendulkar's India teammate and opening partner Virender Sehwag.

"He loves cricket and with his hardwork, focus and commitment he has truly become a outstanding ambassador for the sport at a time when commercialism is so rampant." - Former Pakistan captain and coach Javed Miandad.

"I think Tendulkar has outdone all the other greats with his hunger for the game which is amazing." - Former Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir.

"What has impressed me the most about Tendulkar all these years is his humble and simple nature. I never saw him ever let the fame and adulation he enjoys get to his head." - Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq.

"I don't watch cricket much but I admire Sachin Tendulkar. I like the way he has conducted himself over the years. He has been such a huge star for so long but has not had a single controversy against his name." - Olympic bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh.

"The best thing about Sachin Tendulkar is that he's completely rooted, down to earth, and a thorough gentleman. He's probably the best thing to have happened to Indian cricket and maybe Indian sport as a whole." - Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.

"I see him continuing until more landmarks like 50 hundreds. 100 centuries is not difficult for him because the passion for the game is still very much there even after 20 years," - Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif.