Sachin Tendulkar mania: Genuine praise for Master Blaster or marketing gimmick?

With less than 48 hours to go before Sachin Tendulkar plays his 200th and final Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the nation is high on celebrating the Master Blaster's illustrious career. As one would expect it's not just tickets to that game that are selling like hot cakes.

Everyone who can is looking to cash in on the Sachin mania. Sachin memorabilia of all shapes and sizes are popping up all over the internet and the trend has set the cash registers ringing for online portals like eBay etc.

The multinational online store has set up special landing pages to cater to the demand. The response according to them is fantastic. Deepa Thomas, ecommerce evangelist for eBay told NDTV, "Last Saturday we actually sent out a mailer announcing they limited edition silver coins and within a few about 350, 20gms of silver coins sold and I think about 50, higher 200gms silver coins were sold."

From coins to autographed bats, books, coffee mugs, T-Shirts, wallets and cell phone covers to posters, Sachin is everywhere. This blitzkrieg of Sachin merchandise has led many to question whether this is simply a marketing strategy or is it genuine appreciation for the Little Master's contribution?

Websites like Playground online, an e-store that sells leading brands in sports equipment maintain there is more than a desire to sell. They say everyone knows there will never be another Sachin and this is just a way of saying 'thank you'.

Bhanu Simha, vice-president, sales and marketing of Playground online told NDTV, "The response what we have got is excellent and it's not a question of a hype. We have to celebrate his achievement and this is not a hype at all."

Sachin will bid goodbye to competitive cricket in a week and for the fans who want a memory to cling on to, this perhaps is as good as it gets.