'My journey started in 1983...', recalls Tendulkar after winning Laureus Sporting Moment

As former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar won the greatest Laureus Sporting Moment of the last twenty years, the Master Blaster gave a special shout out to 1983 winning team led by Kapil Dev.

"My journey started in 1983 when I was 10 years old. For people who are not aware of the significance of that year, I would tell you that India had won the World Cup. I did not understand the significance and just because everybody was celebrating, I also joined the party," Tendulkar said after winning the trophy.

The Master Blaster won the World Cup on his sixth attempt. He came the closest to the trophy in 2003 as India made the finals, but the side lost against Australia.

However, in 2011, India managed to defeat Sri Lanka in the finals to lift their second 50-over World Cup.

"But somewhere I knew something special has happened to the country and I wanted to experience it one day and that's how my journey began. It was the proudest moment of my life, holding that trophy which I chased for 22 years but I never lost hope. I was merely lifting that trophy on behalf of my countrymen," Tendulkar said.

"And this is a reminder of how powerful a sport is and what magic it does to our lives. Even now when I watch that it has stayed with me," he added.

46-year-old Tendulkar had made his debut for India at the age of 16 in 1989.

He aggregated 34,357 runs across formats, which is 6,000 runs more than the second-placed former Sri Lanka cricketer Kumar Sangakkara.

Regarded as one of the greatest batsmen ever, Tendulkar holds the record of being the highest run-scorer of all time in international cricket, having notched up 18,426 runs in ODIs and 15,921 runs in Test matches.

He is now a mentor of the Mumbai Indians franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL).