Sachin Tendulkar: The little master officially becomes India's Ratna

There was a different unusual air about the way he conducted himself- The way he kissed the pitch, his flawless speech straight from the heart with only substance and no fillers. People say Virat Kohli will beat Sachin’s records but then they also said that Kallis and Ponting will do the same.

Both Kallis and Punter have retired and the records belong to the man from Mumbai. People might have talent but to match astounding longevity with utmost consistency requires some doing wherein Sachin goes several notches above other players and enters that zone where he finds no company.

Humility defines him like no other superlative. In this world, people go gaga by achieving so little and insignificant but then, this is Tendulkar, we are talking about. This man has all the reasons in the world to boast but he chose humility and hence, we gave him the God status.

Sachin read the game like no one else did. When India had to chase 360 in world cup final, he said that the target is achievable if one boundary could be scored every over which is not that tough a task. Then target would be reduced to 160 runs from 41.2 overs. It all started well with a boundary in the first over off McGrath but could not continue for long but the idea was so simple yet so profound that it cheered up the mood of everybody in the dressing room.

Cricket has been served by Sachin in a flawless fashion and he drove home the point that humility can’t be substituted by talent. Most people would be happy to have half of his talent or humility but when people get talent, humility generally goes amiss which is where Sachin exuded awe.

It is only fitting that the man from Mumbai is the youngest ever and the first to receive Bharat Ratna. It becomes only ludicrous when people like Uma Bharti attribute success of Sachin to IPL. Statements like these do nothing but reveal your IQ to the entire world and more importantly, bring Namo campaign down – Don’t do that Uma. With no disrespect to the legendary Dhyan Chand, the champion deserves it like no one else.

For Sachin, it was always Cricket first. In a Pepsi commercial, they gave him a fly swatter and he was shown dispatching cricket balls with it. Sachin respected the game and said it would be disrespectful to the game and asked for it to be shot again with a cricket bat.

In another classic example, Tendulkar turned down a record liquor endorsement offer to live up to the promise he made to his father many years ago. His father had proscribed him from endorsing alcohol related or tobacco products after he had made the Indian test team. That is Sachin for you.

A message for all Rahul Dravid fans

I absolutely respect Rahul Dravid for his service to Indian Cricket. The comparison drawn does not intend to demean any of his sporting achievements in any possible way. The comparison includes Rahul Dravid because nobody comes closer to Sachin than Dravid in terms of monumental success achieved and the humility with which both of them have served the game.

Dear Sachin,

Your conduct is what sets you apart.

You chose to be a servant of the game when you could be the prince.

Hope to see you keep in touch with the sport you so loved.

Cricket needs you in any form you choose – Be the coach, own an IPL team, company Harsha Bhogle in the box and give Ravi Shastri a much needed break. Just get out there the way you want and give us more joy.

We have spent our childhood watching you, spending the rest of our lives doing the same won’t be a bad deal.

A proud fan.