(written after Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from One Day International cricket)
23 Dec 2012
The curly haired shy boy next door is my earliest memory of someone called Sachin who stormed into the limelight at a time when there were stalwarts in the Indian team. He was calm yet aggressive, raw yet niche and despite being as fresh as the morning showed glimpses of why he would last till the evening. Boy, wasn't he soon going to be the Man in the team, taller than everyone else in his fraternity!
Before long, the burden of carrying the aspiration and imagination of a billion-strong country was on his tender shoulders. Every time the little master walked in to the twenty two yards, the nation had its heart-beat hard-paused for a while followed by another while followed by another. No other Indian sportsperson, no other Indian actor, in fact no other Indian in the last twenty years enjoyed as much adulation and following. There were greats, there were legends who Sachin played with and against; but then they were not him. Only he could have been him.
Many brainless followers of the game ask who between Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar is better or bigger. It is equivalent to asking, 'Is the ball or the bat more necessary to play cricket'? The legend of few cannot be measured; it can only be imagined not by the runs they score or wickets they take, but by the way they leave an ever-lasting impression on the face of the game. They are just about few; rest are mere mortals. No other cricketer ever was more important to his countrymen than the team-score, never has a nation celebrated every century scored by a cricketer bothering far less about the outcome of matches.
It has always been hysteria galore, madness unplugged and love unwound! Sachin not only played cricket, he carried himself with the highest level of humbleness, integrity, honesty and dedication. All this has helped him stay grounded and earn unconditional love and respect from all quarters.
He was Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar before he became The Sachin Tendulkar. This is how he will live on for as long as the game of cricket is played!
Thank you Sachin for being what nobody else ever could be, for carrying the tri-color around your shoulders for over two decades, for gifting us memories more pleasant than our childhood itself, and for inspiring an entire generation of cricket-lovers.
And thank you for teaching me the meaning of the word 'cricket'!
23 Dec 2012
The curly haired shy boy next door is my earliest memory of someone called Sachin who stormed into the limelight at a time when there were stalwarts in the Indian team. He was calm yet aggressive, raw yet niche and despite being as fresh as the morning showed glimpses of why he would last till the evening. Boy, wasn't he soon going to be the Man in the team, taller than everyone else in his fraternity!
Before long, the burden of carrying the aspiration and imagination of a billion-strong country was on his tender shoulders. Every time the little master walked in to the twenty two yards, the nation had its heart-beat hard-paused for a while followed by another while followed by another. No other Indian sportsperson, no other Indian actor, in fact no other Indian in the last twenty years enjoyed as much adulation and following. There were greats, there were legends who Sachin played with and against; but then they were not him. Only he could have been him.
Many brainless followers of the game ask who between Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar is better or bigger. It is equivalent to asking, 'Is the ball or the bat more necessary to play cricket'? The legend of few cannot be measured; it can only be imagined not by the runs they score or wickets they take, but by the way they leave an ever-lasting impression on the face of the game. They are just about few; rest are mere mortals. No other cricketer ever was more important to his countrymen than the team-score, never has a nation celebrated every century scored by a cricketer bothering far less about the outcome of matches.
It has always been hysteria galore, madness unplugged and love unwound! Sachin not only played cricket, he carried himself with the highest level of humbleness, integrity, honesty and dedication. All this has helped him stay grounded and earn unconditional love and respect from all quarters.
He was Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar before he became The Sachin Tendulkar. This is how he will live on for as long as the game of cricket is played!
Thank you Sachin for being what nobody else ever could be, for carrying the tri-color around your shoulders for over two decades, for gifting us memories more pleasant than our childhood itself, and for inspiring an entire generation of cricket-lovers.
And thank you for teaching me the meaning of the word 'cricket'!
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