Tendulkar fabric-ated in Leicestershire

Sachin Tendulkar may have missed out on his 100th international century at The Oval this week, but it’ll doubtless cheer him up to to learn that he has been immortalised in fabric in a shopping centre in Leicester.

A giant mosaic of Tendulkar, measuring 9m x 6m in size, was laid out on the floor at Highcross Leicester shopping centre by the reowned local artist Laura Hadland, who last year made a portrait of her mother that was made entirely of ... toast.

Gurvinder Rupra, marketing manager at Highcross, said: “Immortalising Sachin Tendulkar out of fabrics seemed the perfect way to capture the spirit of Leicester as it gears up to welcome him and his teammates to the city.”

The artwork - which was created on the lower mall outside Debenhams - used more than 100 yards of fabric and saris, and took 9.5 hours to create. It will be in place to welcome the arrival of the Indian cricket team for their warm-up Twenty20 match at Grace Road on August 29.

Click here for a stop-motion video of the mosaic being made.