The Champion…

      If there was one man who could bring a billion to a standstill it had to be the Little Master. As the saying goes… “Commit all your crimes while Sachin is batting… They will go unnotices because even God’s busy watching…” A true champion and a fitting idol for the youth in a country where sportsmen are worshipped and actors are idolized. Having won the world cup in 1983, the Indian cricket team managed to revive the sport of cricket in the country but, it took a genius to draw the whole nation to watching cricket. In 1996 when, the world cup was being held in India the grounds became empty soon after Sachin was out… he managed to carry the burden of his side on his fragile shoulders as a 20 year old. A generation grew up watching him play and in India you get only one answer when you ask about the greatest cricketer in the history of the game. No,it’s not Bradman and we are sure he wouldn’t have survived for so long having played so many games . Cricket would not have got so much attention if not for his immaculate timing, precise placement and wizardry.

      From the early nineties the world of cricket saw two contrasting characters emerge as the ambassadors of the game, one a flamboyant prince from the isles of the Caribbean and the other a modest genius from the subcontinent. While, Lara was a batting spectacle… Sachin’s batting reflected that of a genius at work! Although both were part of one-man armies… if there was one thing that could make them stand apart it was the fact that Sachin was more of a team man while Lara was more in love of his own game… Lara always had a point to prove… while Sachin always says “I don’t play to prove someone wrong.. I play for, I am passionate about the game and value the hopes of a billion back home”. That puts him in a different class above all the great players for, he values his presence in the team as much as he values the hopes of a billion! A champion in the true sense he knows his priorities and respects his followers which you would rarely find in the present day practical world.

While Sir Viv was called the King of the game… Sir Don is the reigning Don of this game and Brian is called the Prince Charles of cricket… In India Sachin Tendulkar is fittingly christened as “The God of cricket” for he plays like one! His batting masterclass is a blend of aggression and patience two contrasting characteristics which can be seen together only when Sachin is at work. The most attractive part about this man is the fact that twenty years of experience behind him he still is game to learning any new tactics and techniques about cricket. This was evident to the way he emulated the switch hit aka Pieterson style… during the Challenger Trophy match in 2009 and perfected it to the extent that even KP would envy. 

      The world was the stage in 1999 when the Master Blaster was jet lagged and mourning his father’s death who had died a couple of days before. He stepped into the game and smacked a huge ton against Kenya to show the world what he was made of! Ramesh Tendulkar would have been even more proud of his son had he been alive… But, the team which was still far from being TEAM INDIA of today had failed his valliant efforts and made an exit after the second stage. In 2003, it Sachin Tendulkar who engineered India’s success in the World Cup and only he must have known how painful it was to be adjudged as the Player of the Tournament after having lost the cup. One man against the whole world he was instrumental in helping the nation realise that Cricket is a sport we would love any day. 

      To date in most cricket shows they talk about the master and also make it a point to criticise his skills at being captain of the side. But, one thing they fail to understand is when a player who is so committed to the game is made captain he is bound to expect the same commitment and passion from all his team mates and failing to do so… he would never be a content captain. Sachin’s colleagues have time and again mentioned this and to me Sachin was not a failure as a captain. Today I feel that with such a notion if he was allowed more time he would definitely have made his teammates realize the importance of being as committed as him! That day was not too far but, in India we forget our heroes too soon.

If someone in Australia respects India today it is not because we once had a Gandhi or because we have several Gandhis today but, because India was the home of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. If ever a Pakistani wished there was no partition it was when Sachin took them apart and tore their team into pieces. Today the whole world respects him for the genius that he is…. But, in his own country the media labels him as an elephant in the dressing room or an old war horse rusty and yet willing to drag itself along. There could have been no better answer than those two big knocks against Aussies in the CB series last year! Sachin was never shook by any criticism he just answered with tons.. tons and more tons.

 

Today when the educated journalists of India have started writing about the honor bestowed upon Sachin by Taussad’s… I just feel like saying one thing…. It’s an honor for Taussad’s to have Sachin’s wax statue!

The world will remember Sachin Tendulkar even after the game of Cricket vanishes from the scene! All hail the Master!