I still remember even though i was a small kid when my Dad introduced me to Sachin Tendulkar on TV ofcourse, and my love affair with cricket has remained ever since though not for long now.
Probably the greatest cricket ever considering the don never had to face the barge of criticsm and expectations ironically together that the little man faces and that for the first half of his career he played with rather ordinary cricketers as his teammates and India those days were a one man team.when the country was reeling under the 26/11 attack this man gave us a reason to smile amongst tears with his match winning century against england at his favourite haunt..the chepauk. when none of the politicians were brave enough to risk their vote bank and speak out against the hooligans in maharashtra this greatest son of soil said india is one and mumbai belongs to all…he was not required to say anything but he did, he could have shown blind eye to the episode but he didnt, instead showcases the patriot he is. a world record of centuries, a world record of man of the match awards, 2 man of the tournament in 5 world cups he has played. Still he was questioned, still his greatness and match winning ability was incessantly put up as an issue which sometimes hogs more limelight than price rise and global warming even though he gave us more reasons to smile than anyone else. For someone who once had to wear a fake beard and don a hat to watch a movie probably leads the least controversial life. his marathi middle class family roots remain intact though being the richest cricketer in the world temptations were galore. With a bat in his hands he has destroyed some reputations. there was a point in his career when he was bogged down by injuries,had to slow his game down. people could not fathom as to why their god was reduced to a mere mortal, someone who could be beaten, who could could get nervous while nearing a hundred. the critics had a field day making some rather fatuous comments. No one understood that till some days ago this man could not hold his cup of tea because of tennis elbow, still he came out batted and churned out runs,the domination of bowlers was not quite the same though the runs as effective. Then with all his injuries behind him the master came out all guns blazing. when we thought everest had been conquered he discovered new heights, with a century of centuries
Without him cricket would not be the same, it was a love affair of a lifetime, what would grounds be if spectators dont shout his name and sometimes even inflict an insult by cheering an Indian dismissal if Sachin was next. It will certainly not be the same for me if Sachin Tendulkar is not the name at number 4.