Sach is Life: The end of an era

The feeling has not sunk in yet! On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I saw a post on Facebook which said that Sachin Tendulkar had retired from ODIs. I thought it to be just a stupid prank someone had played, but just to confirm I checked the online news and saw that the dreaded post was indeed true! The World stood still for a moment, two tears trickled from my eyes and I had a flashback…

I remember the first time I saw Him play. It was 1996, India’s tour of England. As a small kid, I had no idea what my dad was watching on TV. Looked like some sport but I was not sure. I asked my dad, “What are you watching”? He told me that it was Cricket and it was very interesting and even I should watch it. Suddenly something happened and he switched off the TV and went out. He looked sad and furious at the same time. I could not dare to ask him what had happened. Couple of days later, he was watching the same channel and clapping and cheering for something. He called me up and told me one sentence that I can never forget. He said, “If you want to achieve something in life, follow this little man!” He told me how Sachin had excelled in this field at such a small age and how hardworking and disciplined he must have been! Sachin went on to make a famous century in that match but in a losing cause. After some time, dad again abruptly shut the TV. I dared and asked him that why he had turned off the TV. He said Sachin was out, so the match was over. The tradition which I follow even after 16 years and I am sure, millions of others too!

After coming back to my senses, I closed the lid of my laptop and switched on the TV. All the news channels were flooded with the news of Sachin Tendulkar retiring from ODIs. A channel was showing his best ODI innings; there was a double century, there was the CB series final and then I saw the match which, according to me, changed the way we Indians think. The desert storm innings! He single-handedly won the tournament for India. It looked difficult, impossible! But as Sachin himself says, “Impossible is nothing but I’m Possible!” We still get goose-bumps when we see those two innings. The final was played on his birthday and after the match got over, I asked my Mom to make a small cake so that we could celebrate his birthday. And I have been celebrating his birthday ever since. Next 24^th April, it would be the 15^th! I have been blessed with many gifts in the form of masterful innings by him too. May it be 118 against Zimbabwe in Sharjah, 186* against NZ in Hyderabad, 155 against SA in Bloemfontein, 176 against WI in Kolkata, 109 against Australia in Nagpur or the best of the lot, 175 against Australia in Hyderabad! What more can a fan ask for?

Okay, so what makes this Master, this genius, the God of cricket? Is it because Sir Don Bradman said that he could see himself in Sachin? Is it because the little Master, Mr Gavaskar, bowed before him after Sachin completed his 35^th test century? Is it because Warne used to have nightmares of Sachin hitting him out of the ground? Is it because Dennis Lillee wished to bowl at Sachin with a helmet on? Is it because the greats like the Vivs, the Laras and the Pontings consider him the best? Is it because of the glorious straight drives, the ferocious cuts, the elegant flicks, the marvellous cover drives, the scintillating pulls or the majestic sweeps? Or is it the stats which speak volumes about his achievements? 23 Years and 5 days! 463 ODIs, 18,426 runs, 49 centuries, 96 half centuries, 62 MoM and 17 MoS in ODIs, A double century, maximum runs in a calendar year, most ODI centuries in a calendar year and 154 ODI wickets. These are some serious statistics. But according to me, all these form just a part of the reason why he is the God. It’s the passion that made him play for such long. The dedication which propelled him to play even with a broken back, toe, elbow and what not! The grit and determination that enabled a small kid to fight back against the fiery attack of Pakistan! The integrity towards the nation which helped him to come out clean from match fixing scandals! The pressure of 2 billion pairs of eyes which expect him to score a century every time he walks onto the field and even a score of 90+ is not acceptable. The strength and skill to innovate and come back stronger every time he is pushed to the corner! No human being would go back and hit a century couple of days after his father’s death, knowing that he couldn’t even attend the funeral. And above all, the humility which is rarely seen in our generation!

There were people who threw stones at Jesus. Even God can’t escape criticism and hatred. Few people accuse him of being selfish. Is he? Really? He could have played the ODI series against Pakistan, made a century on the flat, placid wickets, and happily retired after completing 50 ODI centuries. He retired from the team when he sensed that he won’t be able to add the same value which he used to before! Even his retirement press release had only two things. One, he is proud to be a part of a World Cup winning team and two, it is time to build a team for 2015 World Cup. Team man, isn’t he? Few people accused him of not performing in crunch situations and fourth innings’. He didn’t say anything! VB series finals and the historic run chase against England did the talking! Remember how our parents did not let us go out for a night out to our friend’s farmhouse because we were too young at 17 to do that and it was outside city limits? He was 16, travelling to a country with whom we had fought 3 wars, which remains to this day our biggest enemy and whose bowlers thought that getting a batsman ‘out’ was to get him to not be physically able to play the next delivery. Being Sachin is not easy, it involves infinite sacrifices. And to do that for 23 long years is itself an achievement.

There are hundreds of stories which praise Sachin, but according to me the following two define the man! While playing a Ranji game, a bowler got him out and started crying because he had got his favourite player out. I don’t think we would see anything like this with any other player. I visited my Grandma during the summer vacations and was watching a match. I was clapping and shouting as Sachin was nearing his hundred. She asked me “Sachin kheltoy ka?” (Is Sachin still batting?). She had absolutely no idea of what cricket is and still she knew about this man. He has to be one of the most famous personalities in India. He has spent more than half of his life on the cricket field. His sheer presence is enough to boost the morale of the team. He does charities but never speaks a word about it. He has been a source of inspiration to the new generation. A true representative of Indian Cricket! And in a true sense, India’s favourite child.

As he once famously said, “Chase your dreams because dreams do come true!”, I feel it’s time for the younger generation to take the mettle forward and take Indian Cricket to greater heights. To conclude, I would like to end with two pictures which sum up the ODI career of the Master. First is with the World Cup which he deserved the most and the second is after he completed his 100^th century when he made a small gesture with his bat handle and pointed towards the flag on his helmet, suggesting that it was dedicated to his country. Mr Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, though you have not received an official confirmation, you are already a Bharat Ratna for me and millions of others!