“All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years.”
Perhaps there is no record in cricketing (particularly batting) that has been denied the name of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. It is not a joke to be called the God of Cricket. It was not only about playing, but respect, justice and huge honour associated with the game and that was lived by the legend. So, the departure of the god from the pitch (heaven) would create a distinction in the world of cricket. The first world will be the time of Sachin and the other world that would be denied of Sachin. Yes, the miraculous bat will be stopped forever leaving behind a mountain of achievements for the generations to come. By mid- November, Sachin will play his final and 200th test match on Indian soil and the devotees would try to adjust the fact that we are watching the final run towards the crease, the final boundary, the final run and the final act of kissing the helmet (that he usually does). It is equally difficult for him to imagine a life without something that he has all ever done since the age of 11. But the milestones set by him will always be there in the journey of this game. But the game would change after his retirement.
It was the year of 1989 when the 16 year old boy was taken into Indian Test squad against celebrated opposition, Pakistan with faces like Waquar Younis, Imran Khan and Shoaib Akhtar. Who knew this is a start of an amazing time in the world of cricket. Later, Sachin became the synonym for Indian Cricket. In 1990 he scored his first test ton(unbeaten). The years of 1993, 2004 and 2010 were amazingly great for the legend. He is one those players who scored double century in One Day format of cricket. The dream of the World Cup also came true in 2011 which was his last World Cup tournament. It would be difficult to get a player who honoured this game for last 24 years without any stain on his career throughout the ups and downs in the game. It is completely unobjectionable statement that this “five-foot” of cricket has constructed a non-measurable height in cricket. It is not like that he was too brilliant for any difficulties but the way he tackled those. He was not proved as a good captain and Team India saw worst defeats during his captaincy. He was most frequently hurt by the bad umpire decisions but never dishonoured the spirit of sportsmanship. No one can forget those nervous-99s of his career when it was so easy for us , as spectators, to say that how a man like Sachin could fail here. He took all those criticisms , whether it was 2007 World Cup defeat or the pressure to take retirement as his days were supposedly over. But it did not affect his innings and at the most, the team’s interest, adversely. Sachin recognised the right time for the memorable good-bye, as no one except him is eligible to set the farewell date. And proudly that would neither be the Mecca of Cricket or the fastest WACA ground but the Indian soil. Thank you and salute Sachin Tendulkar for the amazing time you gave and the memorable moment to audience also, when the only noise in the field was “Sachin- Sachin” irrespective of anything.
Here are some words from other great members of cricket for Sachin
Ian Bishop: The sight of the straight lines of the bat on its downswing, the power of the backfoot punch, thanks for the memories, Sachin!
K. Srikanth: His decision to retire is shocking as I thought he would be part of the South African Tour.I wish he signs off with a century.
Javed Miandad: I think Tendulkar has been the ideal role model in Indian Cricket and that is why we are now seeing a new generation of quality batsmen from India.
