The end of Tendulkar?

When almost 20 centuries back the Mayans predicted that the world would end on 21^st December 2013, for many Indians the doomsday had skipped by a mere 48 hours. The end of time as such had dawned upon many an Indian that day. Asking what separates Men from Gods, be it Perseus who asked this to Zeus, be it Leonidas, the Spartan King, be it Achilles the warrior, The same was asked in each and every drive, each and every uppercut and each and every ball Sachin Tendulkar faced.

To those who think Sachin Tendulkar is merely an overhyped Indian player, Sachin is best described in the words of Pakistani cricketer turned commentator Rameez Raja, “Cricket has and will see great players come and go, but it will never again see another Sachin Tendulkar”. From the curly haired short kid who wanted to be a pace bowler to the 16-year-old facing Abdul Qadir accompanied by arguably Pakistan’s best bowling attack to the name millions of Indians would chant, the journey itself is as moving and as motivating as the person himself.

When Sachin entered the scene with his childhood pal Vinod Kambli, scoring double centuries each, he was the same curly haired kid who wanted to be the fastest bowler in the world. He was merely toying with the opposition. All great players seem to have this trademark. Unlike players forged out of practice, playing in all the hierarchies of tournaments and then arriving on the national scene like Dravid or Laxman, great players simply come to the scene and announce themselves as the future of the game. Albeit let me remind you that the question at the time was, “After Gavaskar, who?”. Now this was Sachin when he played against Pakistan when he was a mere 16-year-old. After hitting Mushtaq Ahmed for 20 in the previous over, Abdul Qadir steps up to Sachin and asks him “Why are you hitting the new guy, hit me instead”. The next over read 6, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6. Qadir was hit for 28 runs in that over.

Every pundit had received their answer.

A career 22 years long, glory and tears galore, I feel privileged to have born in this era. Privileged to have watched Sachin belting Shane Warne over his head, to have watched him playing the 2003 World Cup, hitting Akhtar at will, to have watched Sachin hit Brett Lee right back with double the pace he generated and to have watched him lift the World Cup, that final feather missing in his cap. Be it me jumping out of my bed when I heard Sachin was batting on 196 (scored more importantly against South Africa and that too without a runner) or Sachin claiming back the CB Series cup down under, or his resurrection in the Nagpur Test where he flaunted a sudden outburst of emotions filled with elation, or his century after his father’s demise; Sachin has given us moments. Moments to treasure, to rejoice and to believe, that God walked amidst us.

Harsha Bhogle himself said it was Sachin’s passion that fuelled his 22-year-long career in the sport, Sachin the prodigy hadn’t rested in that stage. He continuously played 55 days on and returned home, 55 continuous days of coming back home and sleeping on his dinner table before his meal could arrive. The attitude vs. passion debate is itself an indication of why Sachin commands respect. Often compared with Kambli in this discussion, one cannot stop feeling sorry for Kambli who incidentally is the fastest Indian to score 1000 Test runs.

The scene right now can be described through the famous song ‘Sweet child o’ mine’ by GNR. The singer has a daughter and the band does the song’s composition in celebration of the newly born child. Towards the end, the lyrics ask “Where do we go now, Where do we go now? “ The Indian Cricket team too is now in that stage. Lucky to have Bhuvneswar Kumar stepping in to the limelight, for were it not for him, the question “After Sachin who?“ would’ve been much more intense.

I take to writing when I feel blue, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you Sachin, as whenever I remember the innings, the game the energy and the ambience is itself rejuvenated. To those asking if Sachin is no less than a god or the player who god himself watches (according to an Australian Fan), Sachin has changed the game, given us a name to chant, to criticise, to pray, for he has given us faith in the team, in the game. I believe this in itself is divine.

Endulkar? At the dawn of a man’s career, who made us believe god walked amongst us, to him the Indian Cricket fan would say:

“You might have retired from ODI crickets but never from our hearts”