Recreation

It’s been 20 years now!!Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has been an important cog in the lives of every cricket fan for 20 years!! At a time when the whole world is showering praise and affection on the little master (http://www.cricinfo.com/sachinat20/content/site) it’s only just that I pay my tribute too. Here is my bit to my hero, the man with whom I could relate to some of the most memorable moments in the past 16 years.

I was 3 when Sachin made his debut. So I am one of those unlucky people not to have followed Sachin for initial 4 years of his career as I didn’t understand cricket then, but from the times I started understanding cricket there has been only one hero, only one person who has answered most of my prayers cricket wise – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Fanaticism Stage 1:

With Sachin anything that he did both on the cricket field and off it was instant success. The first innings that I remember with good clarity was the hundred against Kenya in the 1996 world cup. From then on Sachin has always been there just like every other friend just that I could see this friend only on TV. I used to cut his pictures from magazines, paste it in a note book and look after the note book like it was a prized possession. Any class mate who criticized the way Sachin played would be dealt with a barrage of arguments some of which even Sachin might not have found sensible. I still remember writing “Cricket is my religion; Sachin Tendulkar is my God “on the first page of every note book in my seventh standard. Every new pen bought should only write Sachin’s name first.

Fanaticism Stage 2:

As I got a little older I got a little sensible, very little though. I collected articles on Sachin and bound it into books. When I took cricket seriously it was all about being Sachin. Copying his drive, his stance, his bowling action, his mannerisms like the grin while he bats which almost looks like as if he is laughing at the bowler with utter disdain. I am not sure if I really liked the game of cricket as much as I liked Sachin. India winning or losing didn’t matter; it was only what Sachin did that mattered.And I am pretty sure that this is not just me. There must be millions of people In India who have been following Sachin with the same levels of fanaticism. No wonder his career is being celebrated as it is today.

In fact it’s not just the common man, test cricketers are no different. On a day when Sachin had reached yet another milestone , Krishnamachari Srikkanth (under whose captaincy Sachin made his debut) was on CNN IBN analyzing the game when the reporter remarked that every test cricketer would love to be in Sachin’s shoes. Srikkanth replied that he would love to carry Sachin’s shoes, forget being in his shoes!!!

So what’s so special about Sachin? Why should people be so fanatic about him? Perhaps it is his devotion to the country starting off with small things like requesting BCCI to allow him to sport the Indian flag on his helmet to big things like the 136 innings against Pakistan that he had to complete in lot of pain. May be it was the image of a man crying in agony when he met the family of Jawans killed in Mumbai attacks or maybe it was the image of the boy smiling after saving the game for India against England with his maiden century. I am not sure. To me it’s the complete package. On the cricket field he is a Genius. If there is one thing that he can’t do it is just that he can never look awkward with the bat. He was born to bat as Peter Roebuck has written in his article on Sachin .On the field he is one of the safest fielders in our team. With the ball he is an absolute magician. A team man in every respect.

Off the field he carries himself like how every hero ought to. He’s always been politically correct. Barring the recent “Mumbai for all” comment I have never heard of Sachin making statements that hog headlines. Headlines are reserved for his achievements on the field. With the sort of adulation and limelight that he gets it should be easy to get carried away. He has never let success get to his head. Rather he has always been focused, he has loved the game like a 16 year old and he has always been there for India. That is why he makes an excellent role model for every Indian….not just the cricketers ….every Individual in India.