The Legend of Sachin Tendulkar

I was 12 years old at the time. India was facing Pakistan in an irrelevant Group Stage game of the Cricket World Cup (that’s not true, matches with Pakistan are never really irrelevant). Like most Indian kids from the 1990s, I was a cricket fanatic – at least then. Pakistan had batted first and amassed a challenging score of 273 runs, which against a formidable bowling attack comprising of Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar & Waqar Younis, was a daunting target. As was customary in my childhood, I went out to play my own little game of cricket with my local gang at 5.00 pm sharp. The first innings had ended and India were scheduled to begin their chase after a break of 40 minutes. I vividly remember I was batting; the ground was just in front of a line of buildings and the batting end was close-by. A friend’s sister screamed from a window – “Sachin is pelting Akhtar for sixes over third-man!”. I froze! A moment later, every single one of us bolted from the ground. I don’t remember the owner of the bat I was using, but I’m sure nobody ever found it again, because I threw it right there and ran home like my life depended upon it. That innings ended in heartbreak as Sachin was dismissed 2 short of a remarkable century, but the memory remained etched in my mind.

As a child, for a small period of time, I envisioned myself as the next Sachin Tendulkar and paraded about my building with my brand new MRF branded bat. I’m sure I share this in common with most kids my age. Sachin was one of our first role models and we all wanted to emulate him at one point or the other. In the later stage of my teenage years, my fascination with cricket subsided as football became a more integral part of my interests. Over the past few years, I have barely watched a cricket match whole. But I have dodged lectures, assignments, social gatherings and work commitments to catch a brief glimpse of the Master in full flow.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar started plying his trade as India’s greatest cricket hero two years before I was born and he ended it with a humble salute to the 22 yards of his livelihood and a bow to the millions who revered him. There’s very little that hasn’t been spoken about Sachin’s achievements, his statistics, his contribution or his greatness, and I don’t want to overdo it here. I just want to make an attempt to describe why this man meant so much to a nation obsessed with sentimentalities.

I might not be way off the mark when I say this – we Indians display overwhelming evidence of suffering from the ‘victim syndrome’. For far too long, through our glorious history, we have considered ourselves as the downtrodden, the exploited and our morale & self-esteem has almost always been on the lower spectrum. There’s probably good reason for such a sense of global inferiority – India has had to work extremely hard against problems both domestic & foreign, ever since they became a sovereign  state. But amidst this general sentiment of dogged lowliness, came along a man who was an indisputable champion at what he did. There’s not one professional in the sport to have been in Sachin’s presence without a sense of awe.

Sachin and his heroics, became symbolic in ways beyond cricket. When Sachin tormented the mighty Australians, the wily English and the skillful Pakistanis, the entire nation slept in peace and satisfaction, considering it as rightful retribution, for the pain our nation has withstood at the hands of the world. The Indian economy was crumbling like a pack of cards when Sachin first came to the fore. His heroics over the next few years, were moments of pompous joy in the lives of millions of people affected by the massive reforms of the 1990s and the austerity that followed. I’ve come to realize, that the thread that connects most of India to this diminutive curly haired man, was the sense of hope, happiness and pride that he brought to all of us.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was a skillful player, an immaculate technician, an ambidextrous, multi-talented cricketer. He was at the top of his game and on top of all opposition for most parts of his career, barring maybe the twilight, which dragged on for longer than he’d have hoped for. There’s disagreement in the world on whether he’s the greatest player of the sport ever. Some believe he wasn’t as much of a match-winner as Brian Lara was. Some others argue he tended to place milestones over the greater cause. But all of that is irrelevant to this discussion, each word of that may or may not be true, but of one thing there’s almost no question whatsoever, the man was a champion of excellence in a cocoon of unwavering humility. He might have chased milestones, made a conscious attempt to stay away from controversies and almost always made an attempt to maintain a politically correct stand; but the fact that he performed time after time again at the greatest stage of it all, under unimaginable scrutiny and the burden of uncountable expectations  and still somehow, managed to maintain a human aura around himself, is nothing short of a staggering achievement.

The crowd at his home ground in the Wankhede Stadium at Mumbai paid a fitting tribute to a man who has entertained them, harbored their hopes & expectations for longer than 2 decades. His last act of significance on a cricket ground was his slow walk to the 22 yards of a cricket pitch, which he touched, kissed and said goodbye to a background score of the deafening, symbolic chants of “SACHIIIIIN…SACHIN!” and it hit me like a stone, that this would be the last time I hear a nation so united for one man, as India’s prodigal son walked into the twilight of a career etched in gold, having fulfilled his destiny and maybe more.

Goodbye Sachin, and Godspeed! I can’t bear to think of watching India play without your familiar presence amidst their ranks!