'Tendulkar Opus' to have iconic player's blood in it

The publishers of Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography 'Tendulkar Opus' has decided to come out with a special edition of the book which will have the iconic batsman's blood on the signature page.

The "blood edition" of Tendulkar's autobiography, which will have pictures of his family not published earlier and thoughts about his career, will be released in February next year to coincide with the 2011 Cricket World Cup in the sub-continent.

The book, which will have 852 pages edged in gold leaf, will be sold at a whopping US$ 75,000. Only 10 copies of the book, which will weigh 37kg and measure half a metre square, will come out.

All the 10 copies have, however, been pre-ordered.

Photographs: Reuters

"The signature page will be mixed with Sachin's blood -- mixed into the paper pulp so it's a red resin. It is what it is -- you will have Sachin's blood on the page," publisher Kraken Media's chief executive Karl Fowler was quoted as saying in The Guardian.

"It's not everyone's cup of tea, it's not to everyone's taste and some may think it's a bit weird. But the key thing here is that Sachin Tendulkar to millions of people is a religious icon. And we thought how, in a publishing form, can you get as close to your god as possible?" said Fowler.

"We're publishing next February, in time for the cricket World Cup, which is being held in India. It's perfect timing. He's never done an autobiography before and has a great story to tell."

Apart from his blood, Tendulkar has also been asked for a sample of his saliva which would be used to create his DNA profile and would be printed on a two-metre gatefold in the book.

"What you'll be looking at is his genetic makeup," Fowler said.

All proceeds from the sale of the 10 copies will go to Tendulkar's charitable foundation to help build a school in Mumbai.

Kraken will also publish around 1,000 copies of a cheaper edition of the autobiography at US$ 2,000-3,000.

Signed by Tendulkar, this edition will also be a half-metre square in size and will contain around 75 per cent previously unpublished material about the cricketing star, as well as his DNA profile -- but not his blood. Kraken Media is also releasing a US$ 200-300 smaller edition of the book.