Sachin Tendulkar
– thought of
many titles for this article, but could never do justice for it to meet the
great man’s contribution
Well so here
we are, at a juncture where we all knew one day we will eventually reach (sadly
so). As much as it is hard to say goodbye to “The Greatest student” of the
gentleman’s game, it is important to savoir every bit of joy he gave us! The 2
greatest pupils of the game have chosen this year (2013) to bid adieu and
experience life off it (Sachin and Dravid). While Dravid’s exit was emotional
and heavy, Sachin’s feels gruelling to say the least. After all for a major
part of his career, Indian team was only as good as how good a form he was in.
We are in a country where Cricket is like a religion without a doubt and so it
is quite natural to feel sad that Sachin is retiring. Like in the “Master card”
advertisement they say – “there are things that money can’t buy”, one such
precious treasure is Sachin who could never be bought over by anything else but
just his sheer joy for being on the field.
Sachin is
cricket’s Ryan Giggs about whom Sir Alex Ferguson mentioned – “he played like a
man when he was a boy and now he plays with a boy’s passion when he is a man”.
Tendulkar showed maturity beyond his age when he started his career and has
always been a step ahead of everyone else around him ever since.
What do I remember Sachin for? The
numbers, they tell a story don’t they?
But as good a picture the numbers tell, its only his contributions peripheral
to the statistics that are more romantic and essential. The way he made
millions of kids rush to the stadium to watch test cricket, the way he brought
an entire nation to a standstill whenever he batted, the mega serials which for
once took backstage when Sachin was at the crease, the modesty he taught all of
us while he represented millions of his countrymen, he made us cry, he brought
joy to all of us, he made everyone believe that it is possible to play hard
tough cricket and still remain a gentle sportsman, and so on. It seemed like
forever he carried the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulder until the time
Saurav, Rahul, Sehwag and Laxman gratefully agreed to share and let him
entertain the cricketing world with freedom. While his days of burden were
adventurous, his days of freedom have been sumptuous!
Which are the innings I remember of
Sachin’s?
1.
The
first one that comes to my mind is the 169 he scored against SA at Capetown just
for his sheer arrogance in stroke play and yet maintaining a beautiful shape
while playing them.
2.
Who
can forget the back-to-back hundreds he scored at Sharjah against the Aussies.
Tony Greig’s words still ring through my ears “Oh it’s gone high, it’s on the
roof. What a player! What a wonderful player!!” Individual brilliance that won
India the tournament.
3.
The
150 he scored at Chennai where he just counter-attacked Shane Warne like no one
ever had done before.
4.
Another
155 he scored against SA at Bloemfontein where in the process he also introduced
Sehwag to this world.
5.
115
at Perth which in the words of Ian Chappell is the best he ever saw anyone ever
played.
6.
There
are just so many of them, but to me these are the very best of his I can list
down. Others will include the 193 at Headingley, 95 at Trent Bridge the match
prior to that (to help India draw the match), 98 against Pakistan at Centurion
(2003 World Cup) and the list will go on.
Like how the
TV quiz hosts play a game which is like “I tell you a word and you tell me a
relative word in reply” (something similar to the top of the mind recall as
illustrated by Philip Kotler), what is that one word(s)/phrase that would
strike our minds when we hear Sachin?
- - Humble giant?
- - Modest gladiator?
- - Exemplary professional?
- - Epitome of discipline?
- - An emissary sent by the gods to enrich the world of sport?
- - Wow or is it “All of the above”?
The answer is
“everything good about being a
professional is all Sachin is about”.
Mathew Hayden
said in 2003 when India toured Australia – “it feels like I am attending a
class room session on batsmanship while I am standing at the slips watching
Sachin, VVS and Rahul bat”.
100 international hundreds - Very good players go on to make 20-30
test hundreds in their career, think of a 100 international hundreds!! Just let
those numbers ring softly through your ears (100 hundreds), and it would feel
like the most commendable feat and so it is. This does not make Sachin any
greater just because he has scored this feat, but what it will do is put him up
on the list that will include only himself ever.
Sachin has
had Lara, Ponting amongst other greats play in the same era as his. While
everyone felt Ponting can go on to beat Sachin’s records (numbers), you could
never relate to a Ponting as how great a sportsman Sachin is. Like how a decade
from now when AB Devilliers and Virat Kohli will go on to have exceptional
records for their respective countries, AB will surpass Virat in terms of being
a better sportsman (by the looks of it). When Sachin was put under the ugly
“Ball tampering” radar and eventually cleared off saying he is innocent, Kapil
Dev spoke to the media saying - “nobody can give back Sachin the 2 painful days
he would have gone through”. Probably it was only destiny that Gods decided to
showcase the world that he is after all human, for him to go through these bad
phases in what has proven to be the cleanest career ever known.
Sir Harold
Dickie Bird said “in terms of the technique Sachin’s is the best”. This came
from a man who witnessed players like Sir Gary Sobers and Sir Viv Richards. Now
that’s the USP Sachin has had all through his career. In being an aggressive
stroke maker he never lost his balance and foot work. This enabled him to play
aggressively even when the conditions were daunting, he would just keep out all
the good balls with his solid technique. I have seen this ability in Inzamam
when it felt like he had a day’s time to play every delivery because of his
footwork.
2011 world cup victory – If Sachin did not get to lift the
world cup even once during his career, it would have been the most incomplete
story in the history of sports ever. Destiny had it written and so it came. I
was moved when on the next day at a press interview, Kapil Dev broke down to
tears while expressing his satisfaction for Sachin. You could see the happiness
in the man who helped shape Sachin’s early days in international cricket. It
was only fitting that it happened at a time in his career when he could afford
to play with freedom and not when he was over burdened (1st half of
his career). This allowed him to savoir the achievement and the satisfaction
derived from it.
Indian Premier league: IPL has not proven to be a successful
venture for Sachin however, watching him play all these seasons I almost felt
that he was playing himself down. It was evident that when he chose to get hard
on, even Steyn could not get through his defences. Such is this great man’s
prowess that he simply is the best at whatever he does on the cricketing field
with passion.
The Legacy that Sachin leaves behind
-- for the current generation of cricketers, it is never about the
amount of runs they make or the number of wickets they take. It is the way they
carry themselves as ambassadors of the game that will be essential. The story
of Sachin, Dravid, Chanderpaul, Hussey leaves these current crop of players
with the path which is laid for them to excel at their own pace and capture the
hearts of millions of true sports lovers around the world.
It’s only
fair to say that it has been a wonderful journey which has really entertained
and enriched people along the way. Sports psychologists say “Sport uplifts
people” and how true has it been in this case? Not just his own life but it
really has uplifted the life of a cricketing purist like me to have followed
his career all the way. Feel like telling him – “If there’s anyone who deserves
a break after a strenuous journey, it’s you Sachin. You have earned this right
to retire with the entire cricketing world pouring their respect for your
acheivements!!”.
