Sachin Tendulkar Bharat Ratna

Bharat RatnaDec 24, 2010

“There are ups and downs when you complete a circle of life, its not always about being on the top and in life there are ups and downs but it’s important to complete that circle and that’s what has happened in my career”- Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is a Bharat Ratna !

From ‘Boy Wonder‘ to ‘Master Blaster‘ to ‘Endulkar‘ and back to ‘SachInvincible‘, the icon sports hero Sachin Tendulkar has achieved all those which were once considered the summit and still not slowed down. Every run he scores, every ball he faces, every minute he is on the field and even every step he takes inside the cricket ground is itself a new record or a record broken. Sachin himself is the record creator and the record breaker.

When I first started watching cricket in early 90′s, cricket in India was all about Kapil Dev, India winning the 1983 World Cup, Sunil Gavaskar and then Sachin Tendulkar. Of course there were many stalwarts but those were the only 4 things people definitely mouth when you bring up cricket. I was very much frustrated as like the people of India when Sachin is quiet (with bat) on the field as to why is that there are no other player who is equally talented or at least can challenge Sachin’s batting. But after these many years I feel as one among the most gifted to keep watching Sachin play. There are players like Brian Lara or Ricky Ponting or Jacques Kallis or even Rahul Dravid who can match Sachin every ball and every shot but none has that respect which Sachin has earned. The Australian cricket crowds, who are well known to support their home team in as many ways as possible, respect Sachin the fullest. Even every opponent player will expect Sachin to bat as long as possible so that they can watch the maestro in action. He has attracted attention outside the field as well but only for good reasons.

Tendulkar, the name itself brings out excitement for most cricket fans and most to any debutant bowler in the opponent team. Know why? Because Tendulkar has this unique record of giving away his own wicket as a prized possession for the debutant like congratulating him on getting his cap. But Tendulkar marches on. He makes sure he doesn’t fall again. He is also a great encouragement to budding youngsters which is evident from the way he guided Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay to reach their maiden hundred in test. When Tendulkar is out there, the game is controlled by him. The plan, the mental strength, the discipline, the adaptability and dedication, all these make him the perfect role model to anyone with/away from this field.

For Tendulkar, it has been an incredible journey of 20 years which cannot be defined just by stats but by his ability to retain the spirit for the game. He has scored a mountain of runs in both forms of cricket. Crossed 3 figure mark 96 times at the international level and 76 times in the longer version including his first class career (just 5 short of Sunil Gavaskar). He has the record for scoring the highest runs in an ODI match (200*) and also 50 test centuries. But then, his 175 against Australia in a losing cause and the 241 against Australia in SCG (Sachin Cricket Ground :-) ) after nearly 2 years of run drought (the period when everyone concluded as the end of the master’s career) stand out bright. It is because Sachin is not about records but about class, master-class.

“Tendulkar is about a plantation standing up to the typhoon, the skyscraper that stands tall, the cannon that booms. Solid. Robust. Focused. The last word is the key. He loves the game deeply but without the eccentricities of the romantic”- Harsha Bhogle

So, whom can I thank for giving us cricketing fans such a prodigy? God? No way. He has given such precious gifts to many and it’s up to the individual to open the package. It would be the best to thank Ajit Tendulkar for taking his younger brother to the boy’s coach Ramakanth Achrekar sir, then to the coach himself for training him with patience and inculcating patience into the boy, then Dennis Lillee for forcing Sachin to hold on to the bat rather than the ball, then to captain Azharuddin for giving a chance for Sachin to open, then to Spin Wizard Shane Warne for making Sachin play a blistering innings at Sharjah, then to Donald Bradman for commenting Sachin as like him, then to Ganguly-Wright combo for bringing in the winning feeling inside the Indian team thereby making Sachin relax and concentrate on his batting than giving a feel of one man army, and of course to all Sachin fans‘.

This India’s proudest possession is indeed a Bharat Ratna even though the Government has not conferred that officially. He is always Sir Sachin Tendulkar even though the British monarchy is still analyzing on that.

“It’s never been hard for Tendulkar to play cricket. The hard part will be stopping.”