Its a lazy sunday afternoon and Im wrtiting this thing in a tiny little corner of a cyber cafe
(no points for guessing why) tucked in a tiny little corner of my ever shrinking city. Does laziness makes you cynical ? I think so. Right from the morning, be it news channels or the newspapers, there's just one thing everyone's mind. Sachin Tendulkar. Everyone wants to get a piece of him as he successfully completes 20 years in competitive, top-flight cricket. He's not just there, but there in style. Still the main stay of Indian Cricket, the guy is adored and admired alike by the cricketing world. Being an avid cricket lover, this post is dedicated to Sachin.
Ever since I started following cricket, i.e. around 1993 or something, I remember Sachin and Azharuddin being my favourite players. My love for cricket grew with the nation's passion as India hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup. I think it was during that time, as Javed Miandad retired, the world believed that Sachin was to become the greatest batsman of all time. In no means I want to compare Miandad to Sachin. He's nowhere near. I think it was from then till very recently, Sachin has been undoubtedly the best batsman in the world. That's more than 70% of his career. And all this time he has been this Public Property for the idol worshiping people of India. You have to admit the strength in the guy's shoulders, for he carried the burden of expectations of a billion people everytime he goes out to bat. Even Atlas would be scared of
that. I dont know if its exactly a burden for Sachin, or is it the motivation which has got him going for such a long time. Sachin performed exceptionally well in the home World Cup and stamped his class on the game. His popularity grew from here and also the acceptance of the fact that he is the best. It was during this time that Sir Donald Bradman, the then all time best, 'took note' of the striking similarities in Sachin's and his style of play.
Sachin justified his rise to divinity by playing some out-of-the-world innings meanwhile. His Desert Storm innings in 1998, which came on the eve of his 25th birthday are probably the best innings in the world, where he took India to the title single handedly. The best moment of the innings, for me, was the straight six over Michael Kasprowicz's head. I still have the memory of that shot, coz I had never seen anything more majestic than that. Maybe the Himalayas. The innings at Chennai in the test match against Pakistan in 1999 is still the talisman of the man's grit and commitment. His 98 which came against Pakistan in the 2003 world cup is also one of his best as he demolished a formidable Pakistani bowling attack consisting Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq. His 241 at the Sydney Cricket Ground were maybe the most disciplined innings that the world has witnessed ( maybe next to Gundappa Vishwanath's 97 at Chennai ), where he refused to play on the off side. I have to admit, Sachin was never my favourite cricketer, until recently. He scored 175 breathtaking runs against Australia in a no-hope match as per Indian cricketing knowledge and intuition and almost won the match. I am sorry Anil Kumble, but I dont think there was anyone in the field who refused to admit the quantum of greatness in that innings. I think even the young Australian cricketers were awestruck by the man.
The greatest evidence of his achievements has been the adulation he receives from his fellow cricketers on and off the field. Shane Warne has never shied away from accepting the fact, Sachin's batting gives him nightmares and is the best batsman he has ever bowled to. Brian Lara, his fiercest competitor in the race to be the greatest batsman, is all praise for him. Greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Geoffry Boycott, Sir Garfield Sobers -
nobody denies the man his empire. But what is it in him, that belittles the achievements of other contemporaries ? The man's character is impeccable. 20 years of being the epitome of sportsmanship. Barring a few incidents,(when McGrath tried to teach Sachin how to play over third man, the ball tampering charges against him in South Africa, the run out against Pakistan when he had to come out on field to appeal to the enraged crowd) his has been a boring career, if you compare it with the likes of Harbhajan Singh, S. Sreesanth or Saurav Ganguly. It is this school-boyish discipline and respect for the game and his opponents despite of the knowledge that he's the greatest of them all, is the reason why the world loves him. Sachin teaches us to be grounded even in the times of success and ofcourse in failure. His humbleness is a lesson for all.
One of his very few failures would be the captancy debacle. Sachin could not justify his status as the best batsman with the pressure of being the Captain of the Indian cricket team. But it would be wrong to say that he bogged down by the pressure. Pressure is not difficult for him and we all know that. I think he wanted the same level of commitment as his from other players. But there can not be another Sachin in the world leave aside 10, which Sachin wanted.
Sachin is a text book for how a man should lead his life. Justifying his status as a child prodigy and going on to conquer not just every record that exists but also the heart of every cricket lover. His commitment for the team and his patriotism can never be questioned whether he puts a tricolor on his helmet or not. His being a marathi and representing India is the very evidence of the national integration. May be Raj Thackerey can take a lesson or two from Sachin.
I think the world should stand up and recognise his achievments at par with maybe Roger Federer, Michael Schumacher or Michael Jordan. Even though their sports are more popular than cricket it can not undermine the measure of his achievments.
Sachin is one of the reasons why I can proudly call myself an Indian.
