NEW DELHI, April 24: If life really does begin at 30 for Test batsmen, then bowlers around the world ought to be worried — because Sachin Tendulkar is hungrier than ever.

The Indian maestro, widely regarded as the finest batsman now playing cricket, celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday with the message that he plans to go on and on. Tendulkar is the top run-getter in one-dayers with 12,219 in 314 matches and a record 34 tons in an international career that has already spanned an incredible 14 years.

And he is just three Tests centuries short of equalling compatriot Sunil Gavaskar’s world mark of 34. He has already amassed 8,811 in 105 Tests.

“The hunger for winning is always there,” Tendulkar told a website. “All I want to do is to go on and on. It’s hard to imagine life without cricket.”

Tendulkar’s insatiable appetite for runs was seen in the recent World Cup in southern Africa where he hammered 673 in 11 matches to emerge the highest scorer in the tournament’s history.—AFP