Sachin Tendulkar: The Little Master

20 has become a very important number in contemporary cricket. Now we have T20 and IPL and not to forget 20 overs of powerplays. Hence when someone as great as the Little Master, SACHIN TENDULKAR completed his 20 years in international cricket on 15th November 2009, it was destined to be the golden day in history of Indian sports. It all started in Karachi on 15th November 1989 when he started against Pakistan in the First Test match. He started his international runs career with a 15 scored on the afternoon of 16th.
A kid, only of 16, when he made his debut, started with National Stadium Karachi having posters of him jeering him to go back and drink milk. He was even hit by a Waqar Younis bouncer and was injured. But Sachin is a gritty customer and seldom is perturbed and he showed it in the very first match and continued playing in a blood soaked shirt. He didn’t have a dream of series but in an exhibition match in Peshawar, he thrashed the great Abdul Qadir for 28 runs in an over and went to make an 18 ball 53. Sadly, he had the worst ODI debut (a duck in his first innings). But ever since then he has not looked back and now is the proud owner of 17178 runs in ODIs, 12777 runs in Tests and 10 runs in T20Is and is just 35 runs short of 30000 international runs. No player dead or alive has ever thought about these many runs even in their dreams! Add to this 45 ODI and 42 Test hundreds, 91 ODI and 53 Test Fifties. A whooping amount really! The great man has played 159 Tests 436 ODIs and one T20Is. That is 1232 days of international cricket. Add to it Ranji Trophy, English county stint with Yorkshire, IPL and other tournaments and you will have a number which nobody in this world has ever touched and I bet would never touch!
But it’s not Sachin’s numbers which made me write this blog. It’s the influence that he yields over the billions of people in this country and abroad made me write this. I have watched my entire cricket on the television. I vaguely remember that the first programme that we watched was some cricket match. I started watching cricket during 1992 World Cup (I was 6 years of age then). My father used to talk about Sachin and it was whom I watched but I don’t remember anything about it. I remember about the last over of Hero Cup Final in 1993 but not to the best of the details. I started watching and understanding cricket since the 1996 World Cup. Since then I get hooked on to a match whenever it is going on and especially if Sachin is playing. In Tumsar, we used to go to garages, paan shops and petrol pumps to watch Sachin if the bus delayed. The first question on a match day on entering home was always, “Mummy India ka score kitna hua? Aur Sachin??” My mother didn’t know an iota about cricket before but I made her an ardent cricket follower. She is also a great fan of Sachin and calls her as her son.
India always had quality players like Azhar, Jadeja, Dravid and Ganguly but it has always been Sachin who ran the show on his own. It has always been, “Sachin gaya Match gaya!”. Most Indians switch of their TV sets as soon as he gets out. I don’t do that usually but the tail has generally showed “Tu Chal Mi Yeto” tendency more than often. The recent Hyderabad match showed it again. As TOI rightly puts it, “The country stops when Sachin gets going and gets going when Sachin stops!”. I personally never want to get going as I don’t want Sachin to stop ever!
It has been said many times that Sachin plays only for his records. I find this completely untrue as I have seldom seen such a committed player in any form of team sport. Yeah he does slow down when he nears his century. But we must not forget he has the most scores in 90s and actually 3 99s. And as soon as he finishes his century we have always seen him firing all cylinders to make up for the balls he lost! Moreover what are the batsmen at the other end doing?
If cricket is a religion, Sachin is the God. I also worship him and generally don’t allow anyone to speak against him. I have been in serious arguments with many on this topic (especially Ganguly fans who are usually very argumentative). Well it’s proved beyond anything that Sachin is the greatest. All his contemporaries have faded into the twilight and he still looks strong for another decade.
Sachin the person is liked as much as Sachin the player. His “Let the Bat Talk” philosophy is my favourite. Someone has said, “Art of speaking is silver but Art of Silence is Gold!”. And Sachin’s policy is just the same. He never lashes out at his critics but scores a century to prove what he is. That’s a policy which should be taken up by everyone. It will actually bring peace and increase your zeal to perform. It gains you friends and benefactors as well. When Buchanan wrote something about Sachin in his book he didn’t object. But the whole cricketing community from Geoffrey Boycott to Adam Gilchrist protested!
The way he evolved and matured through the years and how he adjusted his shots is exemplary. As soon as any bowler gets hold of any of his weakness, he discovers a new shot! All of us remember the Giles episode. Yuvraj also told how he developed shots against Mendis after he had created havoc in Pakistan. And all these shots were designed without facing him! Due to his health problems like Tennis Elbow and Back sprain he stopped playing the lofted shots. Now with advancing age, he has stopped energy consuming shots in the latter part of his innings. He plays his upper cuts, paddle sweeps and scoops which are his new weapons. But even these constraints have not stopped him from getting his centuries! We should all take cue from him and try to solve our problems with intelligence and maturity. We should at least have Plans B & C (Sachin has A-Z) to solve our problems if Plan A backfires.
We have always seen him complementing his colleagues both inside and outside the field. He has knowledge of every aspect of the game and is always there to help the team out. He is a true Team-Man. Outside the field also his words have helped Harbhajan in Australia (Monkeygate) and senior players cause (Chappelgate). He has been comfortable with all right from 2 decades senior, Kapil Dev, to a 2 decades junior, Rohit Sharma. Off the field also he has been affable and is accessible. The air of vanity which surrounds many a greats is just not seen around the greatest.
He is one of the most patriotic fellows in modern India and as Glenn McGrath says that he is one-in-a-billion individual. He exudes patriotism and when he plays well, a sense of Indianness seeps through our hearts. The whole country looks toward him as their sole representative and he has seldom disappointed.
My role model has always been Sachin. He is committed, solid, tough both mentally and physically, composed, witty, intelligent, diligent, benevolent, matured, patriotic and what else. Yuvraj correctly points out him to be the Grandpa of Indian cricket. Sachin is more and more becoming an adjective for his aforesaid qualities. People bring a reference of Sachin to make their point of view clear. I always like to quote him.
People generally talk about people who can handle pressure situations. But seldom have we acknowledged the man who virtually lives in the pressure cooker! The expectations with him are high as Mt. Everest. A 60-70 is never a good score for Sachin. It always has to be a century or else the score will be taken as a failure! No one in contemporary cricket is subjected to such pressures. It’s like if Pele kicks it has to be goal or if Phelps jumps he should come out of the pool with a gold medal or Bolt who is expected to break his own record whenever he starts sprinting. Having survived such expectations has been a great achievement! Not many can do that. We can actually compare with players like Pele, Sampras, Jordan, Muhammad Ali and a few others.
Having said all his goodies, his insularity to social issues is then not acceptable. He does some social work through Apnalaya but he should represent more. In this country he has a stature and he should use it for the development of this country. Remember how Amitabh Bachchan’s Polio campaign increased the turnouts. Sachin enjoys the platform from which he can usher changes. When he talks people listen! He doesn’t have to necessarily join politics but can do his bit for the country. Remember how his statements hastened Greg Chappel’s exit! Another instance which pained me the most was his demand for waiver of 1.5 Crore on his Ferrari. He shouldn’t have done that. To err is human which eventually he is not!
Now is the time when Sachin should be awarded the Bharat Ratna or a Vishwa Ratna as Lata Mangeshkar suggests. There is no other more deserving candidate!
Long live Sachin and his memories be cherished even a million years later. Maybe a kid will listen to a bedtime story starting as, “There was a little maestro named Sachin. And he ……………….”