WTF? Tendulkar's blood in new book | Thebigtip

In a one of the most bizarre marketing stunts in recent memory, Sachin Tendulkar's blood will be used to print a special edition of his biography, 'The Tendulkar Opus.' Likely to appeal to the fans of 'Twighlight' and 'True Blood' as much as his legion of fanatical cricket fans, the book will be produced by the same publisher that produced the 2006 'Manchester United Opus' which cost between £3000 and £4500 a copy, depending on which edition was ordered.

Sachin Tendulkar's blood used to prepare special edition of his memoirs. By Alison Flood at guardian.co.uk

Worship of cricket's "little master", Sachin Tendulkar, is set to cross a new boundary, as a luxury book publisher brings out a special edition of his autobiography made with the batsman's blood.

Only for the most dedicated of fans, the "blood edition" of the Tendulkar Opus, which also includes unpublished family pictures and Tendulkar's thoughts about his career, weighs 37kg, measures half a metre square and stretches to 852 pages edged in gold leaf, costing AUD$86,000 (£49,000). Out next February, only 10 copies are being printed and they have all already been pre-ordered.

"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," said publisher Kraken Media's chief executive Karl Fowler. "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?"

As well as taking blood from the cricketer, Kraken asked for a sample of his saliva and used this to create his DNA profile, which will be printed on a two-metre gatefold in the book. "What you'll be looking at is his genetic makeup," said Fowler.

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