Sachin Tendulkar-with us for 20 years and counting

Hello to all out there. This is my first blog one which i’ve been planning for some time but no subject seemed relevant. But today i have one in my mind which i think can’t come at a better time.

On November 15,1989,  Sachin Tendulkar made his international cricket debut and now its 20 years on. So naturally for a follower of  him like me this is the best time to express myself and let the world know why and how this little man has been a part of our life.

I had to make a decision before starting this piece of writing. Am I going to describe the legacy of  Tendulkar by numbering the records and accolades he has (if its possible) and then mentioning about the humble human being that he is. I switched on the television and there were a dozen news channels celebrating Sachin’s 20 years of international cricket. They all showed the same list of statistics and  recorded  footages  showing his career time line.  Well, for a passionate Tendulkar fan these doesn’t matter anymore.

Then I decided to come up with my own version of the Tendulkar Story. When you go through this you may wonder if  i am mad. But i hope at least some of you can understand what i mean. Through this i would like to share with you my relationship with our national hero. Sachin Tendulkar seems to have a non-blood relationship with all his hardcore fans. He is without a shadow of doubt, one of the most familiar faces for every indian, but for a true fan, the familiarity doesn’t stop there.It extends to his success being amongst the most cherished moments of one’s life .Though i have so many thoughts bubbling up in my mind i’m pretty sure that i won’t be able to put all those together.The other Tendulkar fans can get what i mean and i dedicate it to all those ‘SACHINISTS’.

I don’t really remember the time exactly when i first saw Sachin in action. May be it was the time when i started watching cricket in the mid 90’s. Those days at my home everyone had a taste for the game. My mother and sisters all used to watch India’s live matches mostly on Doordarshan. They were not the studious followers of the game but they were more than happy to take couple of  hours off  for cricket. So being a boy, I naturally and instantly got a feel for the game. I also started watching matches and i learned some names of players like Kapil Dev, Azharaduddin(with AZHAR on the shirt), Siddhu and some others, but one name stood out,  that was TENDULKAR.

India was not a world-beating side then(which it assumes to be today).They had some good players who can do a good job if their stars turn up. Then there was this man, a young curly-haired(and a lot of them)and boy faced Sachin. It seemed as if  he was the main actor. In any sports(team games) if you just watch it for some time you get an idea of who is the one special player around whom the team revolves. So after that i had an answer if anyone asked me who my favorite player was. The not much surprising fact was that their answer for this question was invariably the same.

I was in the primary classes then, and since there was no insistence for me to study at home, i used to watch almost all the matches, initially only India’s  but then any match that was being telecasted. my ‘terminology’ of cricket expanded from the Azharuddins and the Kumbles to the Waughs and the Donalds and to even the Franklin Roses and the Gavin Robertsons. Places like Melbourne, Durban, Port of Spain and even the Multans and the Bloemfontains all became familiar to me. I said it just to give an idea of how keen a cricket follower i was in those early years. But one thing never changed.That was my hero.

In those days there was a sense among people that if Sachin gets out,  the match was over as far as the team was concerned, which was not the most fair assessment of some very highly talented players around him. But for me, watching the match after Sachin falls was pretty dull. Still, i have that  ‘post-dismissal syndrome ‘ where i usually switch-off the tv after Sachin’s wicket. Here is the interesting part. When i switch-off the tv i think i’m not the only one to do this, there would be thousands of cricket lovers for my company and its a fact and some of you might have done this also.

Thats about me after Sachin falls,then what about me while he is batting. It’s almost impossible to describe that feeling. If i manage to convey half my emotions here, then i’m a winner. When Sachin comes out to bat, it takes me to a different energy level or so. Every thing else seems secondary to me.Thats when you get a bit too superstitious regarding where you sit and watch the match.But here also i’m sure  i’m not the only one with these beliefs and myths. It should be a pleasure for somebody who also has such beliefs to read my thoughts.Sometimes i get so tensed that i forget to enjoy the match.Only after he gets out , i think that i could have enjoyed that innings a bit more. But thats a tension that worths its weight in gold.

People say that Sachin can bring the whole India to a stand-still. This is a right take on the influence that he has on the Indian public.There are so many people who leaves all their work for the day just to wath the master in action. I can safely say that i’ve watched more than 90% of all the Tendulkar innings’  from the day i started watching cricket.Somehow or other i manage myself to be available for Sachin’s innings.For me a day when India plays with Sachin in the team is a special day. Whenever he plays well, it does not necessarily have to be a century, a crisp 20 run-innings with some  delightful shots,it makes my day. There is a famous quote that says “Sachin decides how happily an Indian sleeps”.

All these are my thoughts and they can be viewed as foolishness by someone who has not much association with the game. But what prompted me to express these things is the fact that i definitely believe that Sachin has an influence on his die-hard fans’ day-to-day life. So while celebrating his 20th year in international cricket the measure for his accomplishments  shouldn’t only be some stats and records. With the hope of another few pulsating moments and eager anticipations and above all the joy of just seeing our very own national icon, i’m signing off for now.

“Take a Bow”,Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Please click on this link Is Sachin Tendulkar the greatest schoolboy cricketer ever?