To My God of Cricket-Sachin Tendulkar

I vividly remember the day, when Indians went berserk after Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the best batsman in the world got out to the legendary batsman from Sri Lanka stumped. Leaving behind India in shatters who were then bundled to a poultry total of 120/8 in response to Sri Lanka's 251. The match had to be called off finally. The semifinal as they called it India was clearly knocked out of the tournament. Sachin however remained the top scorer of the match with 65. He took two wickets too. The reason behind me explaining so many things in detail is because I still vividly remember that day. Because that was the day I was drawn to cricket not because of the game but because of the man for whom the whole country went crazy. I never took any real, active interest in cricket before. But that day/match changed the whole scenario as far as I and cricket were concerned. You may say I'm crazy but I guess so are the other fellow Indians who are ardent followers of cricket especially Sachin.

Critics believed that he got out at a wrong time when his team needed him the most. As he had done several times in the past. But the story didn't end there. There have been numerous accusations in the name of this man since then who literally breathed cricket all through his life, once he decided to put down his tennis racket to pursue cricket. And once there was a bat in his hand, well we all know very well that the rest was history. 1989 saw the rising of a man who then went on to be a legend in the game. Being an Indian it does make me feel proud. It really does. I mean for the half of my life till today cricket meant Sachin to me. My cricketing world started and ended with him. I couldn't think of anyone better in cricket as a perfect brand ambassador for the game. I am really proud of it and would always be. I'm sure we all are.

However there came a time when his commitment for the game started to be questioned. Fingers were raised about his performances. Inferences being drawn to how his presence in the international cricket protected his brand value just for the heck of it. And that is where I started to feel dejected. Many a times I wished I could take down all those who raised questions and doubted his integrity with all of my might. However that was where the rationale came in and practicality took over. I mean they all seemed right in their respective space barring a few who hardly knew and understood what it takes be a Sachin Tendulkar.

That is when I started to take notice of few things. The stance had started falling too early while playing to the seemingly over pitched deliveries. The pulls started to reduce in number. The flamboyance in the straight drives seemed to be not so flamboyant anymore. The square cuts were far too less now to talk about the TM Sachin. The drives were hit with less timing than one would have anticipated. The rock solid defense were sneaked through innumerable number of times to find the timber, on which there were once people betting millions and was once considered a dream for bowlers, rookie or veterans alike. The dream then started getting too regular and he was slowly started to be taken lightly by the opposition (if not totally). The dominance seemed to be fading away a bit. Sachin Tendulkar who once seemed invincible suddenly started to seem vulnerable. Never in my dreams would I have thought that that would happen one day. However that day started coming near and one day it suddenly struck me that sooner or later that was going to end.

The rising sun seemed to be fading into the oblivion of late. The charisma seemed to be fading a bit of late. The flamboyance seemed to be missing a bit of late. The expectations seemed to be indifferent a bit of late. The burden seemed to be rising and the star seemed to be getting distant from the milky way a bit. And that is precisely what I don’t want to happen. A man of his stature certainly deserves the best of the best. And he must do that. Not for him probably, but for us. As I said you have to have a life of Sachin Tendulkar to understand what it takes to be a Sachin Tendulkar. He is probably the last shining star of the league of extra ordinary gentlemen of cricket. He must respond to it as he has countless number of times in the past. The greats probably should get together and tell him to do it for their sake. You may argue it never happens that way and I am fantasizing. But believe me it all seems possible now. And if at all it’s a fantasy so be it.

The era had to come to a close. Today or tomorrow. That however doesn't make things look right the way they are. You have to have a life of Sachin Tendulkar to know what it is really like to be a Sachin Tendulkar. For a man who has given all his blood and sweat for a game that had been ruled by foreign soil for long is something to be taken with high reverence. For a man who single handedly withstood the likes of Walsh’s’,Ambrose’s’,Akrams’,Youniss’,Warnes’,Gillespies’,Lees’,Steyns' alike where wickets kept falling like a pack of cards at the other end is something to be amazed at and respected for. For a man who has taken the game so far higher for many by their own standards, and has remained an inspiration for many in the past and would remain so in the time to come, this certainly is not the way one would anticipate that he would bid adieu. This man certainly knows a thing or two about cricket. And all his decisions regarding his career and life span of the game must be considered with high regard.

And now that we have all known where and how it’s all going to end, the anticipation probably would be sky high, which by all means is acceptable. And as for me I want him to pick his last series, the way he wants to. I want him to go back to his blazing best for one last time in the history of the game and show the world his mettle and what he is made of and silence one and all. I want him to have his share of glory and play a memorable series by giving it everything. I mean everything. As if it was his first, as if it was his last, as it would be. As if he knows what it takes to be a legend. As if he was raising a toast to heaven when he would take up his willow, wave at the dressing room and the crowd, making them realise that it would now be the last time that the master had acknowledged and there would be no second coming to it. I want him to make his fans cry for that one last time and hit them with the thought that it was time for him to hang up his gear and walk out of the field proud for having played the game so long that the world would long his last walk out of the field. That as I know should be the way of bidding adieu by the man. By the man as we all know as the master blaster. The man, as we all know, as the little master. For one last time...

For more than 24 years that man stood for grit, determination, hard work, dedication, commitment, passion, and success. It’s all going to end sooner than we think. It’s all going to come to a standstill before even we realize it. The time has finally come to give him a standing ovation that he always deserved. A perfect epitome of the game. To my God of cricket.

As the stage is set I think it’s the perfect time to remember what Times magazine had to say about the legend.

"It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will. When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race an F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, (and) Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam. When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to 'open' the Nehruvian economy."

- - - Adieu to my God of Cricket. Sign Off. :'(