I was 11 when I first watched Sachin
Tendulkar. I remember a couple of friends and I discussing his selection on the
school bus and we were outraged at the time. We had heard of this school boy
who broke a world record in school cricket. School cricket is one thing, but
here is a guy who was only 4 yrs older than us who were being called up to play
for the Indian team. And trust me, at
that time when you are 11, sports, tv and movies are about 90% of what goes on
in your brain. So we reacted very strongly to this - we came up with juvenile
variations of his name to ridicule him (“thondu-lkar” being my favorite. A
variation of the Malayalam word for coconut husk) J. And he getting his nose
broken in the first test only reinforced that he is no good.
Then this happened in an ODI
match cut short to a friendly match due to crowd trouble and everything
changed. Watching it live then, you could feel this kid was special.
Since then I followed every one
of his innings and almost felt like I grew with him. The depressing tour of
Australia in 1992 was when I truly became his fan. After that cricket began and
ended with Tendulkar. Over my teenage years he gave many more memories. His world
cup heroics, his blasts when promoted to the opening slot, his last over from
the Hero cup, the desert storm innings, the heart break of Chennai. The list
goes on and on. This was a time when we all held our breath when he batted. A
time when winning and losing depended entirely on how he would perform. When
roads were deserted when he was in the middle. When people turned off the TV
when he got out. At a time when Indian cricket was mediocre, he held the flag
high and made you proud to be an Indian.
Life changed in my 20's. I couldn't keep up with cricket as I used. But wherever I was, I religiously followed how
he did in the previous day’s match. He got a better team (one his caliber deserved)
and his style changed to that of an accumulator. Though I hated the style, it
seemed to suit the team. It gave me great pleasure when he reverted back to his
old style in the last 2-3 years. Now in my 30's I rarely watch any cricket. But
I still look at score every day and my eyes search for Tendulkar on the
scorecard first.
His departure is an inevitability
that time demanded. But Cricket will not be the same without him. I can’t even
imagine what it might be for him to leave behind the only things he has known to
do all his life. It needed to be done. It was hard to see all the armchair
pundits peck him day after day. It was like watching a debate on whether to
euthanize someone you love. Mercifully he left on his own terms.
To me Tendulkar was
quintessentially Indian. He was a true role model who showcased an “Indianess”
in everything he did. Even his retirement announcement was by staying out of
the limelight. No grand ovations, no lap of the ground and no bat salute.
Hopefully, he will get all that when he retires from all forms of cricket. For someone who made us proud to be Indian, that’s
the least we can give him. Today truly is the beginning of the end of an era. Good
bye Sachin.
True. Couldn't have said it any better .
ReplyDeleteWhen we were in AbuDhabi,both of us had gone and watched the match between India and Pakistan,specially you want to see the batting of Sachin Tendulkar and the bowling action of Wassim Akram live in the stadium.Unfortunately we lost that match as well as Sachin's performance was not great.
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