His Retirement is an earning for many!

India whitewashed New Zealand in the two match test series. Indian spinners destroyed the Kiwi batting order, the young guns, who were carrying the burden of expectations on their shoulders that they will never let us miss the retired senior cricketers, batted brilliantly, and at difficult times, kept their calm and eased the way to victory. So much of positive points out of the series for India and still, from the first innings of the first test match to the last innings of the last test match, critics are just talking about one man: Sachin Tendulkar.

From the past few years, “When Will Sachin Retire” debate is one of the hottest topics in the cricketing world. From media to experts, fans to former cricketers, everyone has their views and suggestions on it. But most of these are without any logic. Just one good or bad inning should not be the criteria to decide whether he should retire. Some say ‘Yes’, some say ‘No’, and others say “I don’t know, Let Sachin decide himself”. And seriously, those with the latter view are the most intelligent of the lot. However, after the recently concluded test series, many are now in favor of “Yes”.

Just a few months ago, when Sachin was unable to perform in Commonwealth Bank Series, critics took over him, saying “His time is gone, he should retire now, he’s over”. But in Asia Cup, he scored his hundredth hundred, strongly faced Pakistan’s bowling attack and scored 52 in just 48 balls, and you all know how the same critics reacted then. “Master! God of Cricket! At this age, he has such power!” It has now become a routine cycle for us. They expect Sachin to score in every match. Just like every Indian fan do. The thing is, we have started taking that “God” word literally now.

He is playing cricket for the past 23 years. He has achieved so much in his cricketing career, and has numerous records and feats to his name. He has a status of a superstar, who is invincible. He has such respect in the cricketing world, bowlers start crying with joy if they get his wicket. And maybe that’s why, people’s expectations with him keep growing higher and higher, and there’s always a feeling, “Jab tak Sachin hai, ham jeet sakte hai”(So long as Sachin is out there, we can win). So much of obeisance for this great little man, but in a country like India, where supporters go outrageous over a particular player if he fails to perform, one bad performance is enough to change the spectator’s view. Now, 56% of people voted in favour of Sachin’s retirement in a poll conducted by a leading Indian newspaper.

And yes, it can happen only in India. Sachin failed to score big in all the 3 innings of the recently concluded test series against New Zealand, and the media started the debate, interviewing experts, and even fans, wanting to know their opinion and sometimes giving their own opinion. “It’s time he should give chance to the youngsters now.” Okay, so now, will critics decide the future of a player? Will critics tell them when to retire? Sachin is a strong player, and a couple of lacklustre performances don’t mean that the media should start debating on his retirement. If this is the case, why didn’t the media point fingers when Dhoni was giving continuous chances to the underperforming Rohit Sharma in the Sri-Lankan ODI Series? There are bad phases in every player’s life. But a true sportsman knows how to tackle it, improve his skills, and make a comeback.

If critics want to show their so-called concern for Sachin Tendulkar, they should motivate him to perform, instead of de-motivating him, saying that ‘he’s finished’. Three bowled-out dismissals don’t mean that the player is finished. He still has the same passion for the game, he had 23 years ago. Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, this man only thinks about cricket. We all know it’s tough time for him now, but we also know that he will come again, and will silent all the critics. As of now, just wait, and let his bat do the talking.

Even A.R. Rahman can’t win an Oscar everytime. In his words,

“Well, I’m no Sachin Tendulkar. Whenever he takes the field, people expect him to score a century before he loses his wicket. I can only give in my best and I always strive to live up fans’ expectations. But, it’s not possible to win an Oscar everytime.”