Six reasons why Sachin Tendulkar is more than just a great cricketer

His efforts didn’t go unnoticed. In pic: Tendulkar recieving Bharat Ratna award from Pranab Mukherjee“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives."-British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).Sachin Tendulkar’s contribution to Indian Cricket has been inexplicable. Be it being India’s leading run scorer helping the team win the most coveted prize in cricket, the World Cup in 2011; his performance against Australia on numerous occasions in Border-Gavaskar Trophy, his scores in 2008 CB Series finals, his famous desert storm innings in Sharjah; giving stiff competition to the then World Champions, or his contribution in helping India perch the top of World Rankings in Tests, glorified Indian Cricket.My previous article, titled 5 reasons why Tendulkar is better than what his stats suggest was about how stats, regardless of how good they are, are not a complete measure of Tendulkar’s illustrious career. But his immense contribution both to cricket isn’t just confined to his statistical on-field exploits, it is much more than that.Here are a few of his contributions in making cricket a richer Sport:

#1 Making Cricket the 2nd most popular sport in the world and being an inspiration

Tendulkar has the highest fan following than any other Cricketer.

"On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!"-Peter Rebouck, Australian journalist.

One must admit that without the huge Indian fan following, cricket wouldn’t be as big as it is now. Cricket wouldn’t be the world’s second most popular sport hadn’t it been for the huge Indian population.

Tendulkar’s exploits at a young age earned him accolades not just from the critics, but soon helped him become fan favorite as well. There was truly a time when half of India would switch off their television sets once Tendulkar lost his wicket.

With cricket becoming India’s favourite sport, budding cricketers were now open about pursuing a career in the sport. His name was often used to sell cricket to the crowd. It is true that at times he as a player became a larger attraction than the sport itself, his flambouyant batting was always crowd puller. Indeed he was an inspiration to many, even to legends like Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni, who were quoted saying that Tendulkar was an inspiration.

Tendulkar didn’t just contribute to the cause of Indian cricket, but he gave the Indian crowd something to cheer about. His success brought a smile on the faces of many, and his failure made them frown.

#2 Proving that talent is more important than physique

Tendulkar playing his trademark straight drive, a sublime touch races the ball to the boundary.

Indians, mostly of inferior physical stature, weren’t at the top of any sport at the time when Tendulkar came to the scene. They were losing glory in the only sport they were good at, field hockey.

Apart from a few individual performances in Chess, Tennis and Badminton; Indians didn’t have much to boast about, until Tendulkar came to the scene. He showed that to hit sixes you do not necessarily need brute force, and a sublime touch is enough to hit a four.

The world hadn’t seen anyone dominate the bowlers the way he did for a long time and he showed that talent is more important than physique. The way he bullied Pakistani pacers, especially Shoaib Akhtar in 2003 World Cup match proves the point.

#3 His efforts in making cricket a global sport

Retired cricketers posing with the Citi Cricket All-Stars Cup

All stars tournament, held in the U.S. makes one thing imminent, that Tendulkar along with Warne are indeed working towards making Cricket popular worldwide. Before the tournament took off, Tendulkar, who was in New York to promote All Stars tournament was quoted saying, “People have opinions that there should be less teams. But we need to find a solution and work towards it together to make cricket a global sport and not have just 8-12 countries compete all the time and be happy with that”.

His nice guy image makes him the perfect ambassador of the gentlemen’s game. Tendulkar being one of the most popular athlete also contributed to Cricket’s popularity. He has always advocated Test Cricket as the real Sport though he supports the argument that T20 can globalise the sport.

#4 Actively involved in building strategies

"Tendulkar and I used to discuss team strategy on the field.” – MS Dhoni

Any Cricket fan who watched Indian team play during the past decade must have noticed Tendulkar quite often discussing things with the captain or standing at mid-on or mid-off discussing strategies with the bowler. He didn’t just contribute to the team’s cause with the bat but was an integral member when it comes to decision making.

Since he was actively involved on the field, one can assume that he must have been involved in helping players off the field too, and was often approached by youngsters who hoped to take a leaf out of his book, as was the case with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli which made the headlines before the IPL 2015. He really made his experience count not just for himself but for the entire team.

#5 Recommended Dhoni for Indian captaincy

India's victorious cricketers pose with the trophy after winning the Cricket World under MS Dhoni

Sharad Pawar once revealed that it was Tendulkar who recommended the young MS Dhoni as the captain of the Indian Team in limited overs cricket in 2007, ahead of senior players of that time. Dhoni’s performance as the captain in limited overs Cricket soon earned him the captaincy in Test Cricket too.

We all are aware of the accolades that Dhoni brought to Indian Cricket as the captain, be it earning the Test team of the year title in 2009, winning the T20 World Cup in 2007, World Cup 2011 or Champions Trophy in 2013.

#6 Charity

Instead of throwing up posh parties, Sachin celebrates his daughter Sara Tendulkar's birthday in the Mumbai slums.

Their performances on the field makes them great players, but that combined with the way they carry themselves off the field is what sets legends apart. Tendulkar always goes through his work silently and never tries to garner undue attention, but his popularity ensures that his charity work does not go unnoticed.

Be it auctioning his bat he used to score the elusive 100th century, his help in Uttarakhand flood relief camps, eye donation camps or doing something for poor kids, Tendulkar would never shy away from helping the under privileged or unfortunate. The way he caried himself made him an icon of humility, which made him an apt figure to follow.