Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
has finally retired, and I have many friends who've asked me as to why I am
being so partial towards the man India likes to call God as to not write a
single article after his retirement. It is not that one doesn't eulogise the man, who
I prefer to call a phenomenon who excited & inspired a nation of over a
billion and became a hero of the masses. It is just that so many reams of
newsprint, airtime, websites & blogs have already been filled with
articles, analyses, comparisons and tributes to his genius that one wonders
what else is left to say in his honour. Everything that needs to be written
about the man has already been written. Or has it? So, here's my two-bit.
The one thing that everyone has been discussing is what really makes
Sachin Tendulkar different from the others? The easy answer would be, "His
24 years at the crease, his 100 International Centuries, his 200 Tests, his
34,000 International runs across all forms of the game, virtually every batting
record that exists in the game." These are just outcomes, in my opinion, of
how the man has lived two dozen years of his life on the cricket field. The
true answer to the question lies elsewhere - in his discipline, in his dedication, in his determination, in his demeanour.
Discipline
If one person has defined discipline on the field in cricket
globally, it is none other than Tendulkar. As team-mates, competitors,
administrators, groundsmen, commentators have said so often, Sachin is always
the first to reach for the practice sessions, despite being the one who
probably needs it the least. His unmistakable shadow practice on the pitch was
a moment the ground staff dreaded. Sachin’s eyes would wander off the pitch and
into the galleries behind the stumps. The focus would be on the sightscreens.
Manyatime he would suggest - to the fright of the ground staff - that the
sightscreen be shifted a bit to a more appropriate position. He did it for
years and did it without fail. After the practice session got over, Sachin
would spend hours having animated discussions with even the newest members in
the team, taking their opinion on how he could have improved something. He
always wanted to learn new tricks, and he remained an eternal student of the
game.
And this started way before he joined the Indian team, becoming
the youngest Indian to don the cap. Sachin's first roommate from his Ranji
Trophy days, Suru Nayak, has revealed that the master blaster was always
practicing shots in the night when he was barely 14 years old. He recalled the
days when the young Tendulkar and he shared a room during the Ranji Trophy
match against Baroda and although Tendulkar was selected at the age of 14, the
selectors decided not to play him in the fast Moti Baug pitch since some of
them felt he was too tiny and may not be able to play well. According to Nayak,
whenever he looked at him, Tendulkar was taking batting stances in the room and
practicing different shots. According to Nayak, the sparkle in Tendulkar's
eyes, coupled with enthusiasm, was something special. No wonder, the young
Mumbai boy would go on to become the greatest batsman the world has ever seen.
Dedication
Some of Tendulkar's team-mates have recalled the days, during
India's tour to Pakistan in 1989, when he sleepwalked. "One night I was
surprised to see a dazed looking Tendulkar walking out of his hotel room and
mumbling in Marathi "maajha bat, maajha bat (my bat, my bat)". That's when
we realised that he was actually sleepwalking,'' said Navjot Sidhu. Even in sleep, Sachin was dreaming about cricket.
As Harsha Bhogle
recalls, "The words that I remember the most from my first major interview
with Sachin Tendulkar years ago, when we had talked about subjects as diverse
as sleepwalking in search of bats and his love for cars are: "I'm still
obsessed". This was, after all, the same individual who used to arrive at
Shivaji Park at dawn and ask if the gardeners could be instructed to erect nets
right away, failing which he could do it himself."
That hunger has been ever-present. There is an anecdote from his boyhood of travelling all night for
a game, reaching the destination at 3:00 am. After getting just an hour's sleep,
well before dawn, he woke up the coach and asked whether they could proceed to
the ground because he wasn't happy with his game and wanted to practice before
the match. All these years, that meticulous streak has always been there,
purple patch or lean trot. And it is such dedication only that has made him reach for the stars and made the world to bow before him.
He is one of the few
Indians who binds the whole of this country. Probably no other person in the
country is as much or as uniformly admired as him - not an Amitabh Bachchan, not a
Rajnikanth, not a Lata Mangeshkar. His dedication to the sport and the will to
do well and win accolades for India and, in the process, for himself have won
him so many die-hard fans. One may easily argue that he played for his own
records, but had he not played the way he did, he won't have played for India
for long and won't have got to those records. Even if one continues to argue
that he played for the records only, that still shows his dedication and zeal
to excel and be the best in the world. Also, the price that he has had to pay
as an individual is incomparable to the records and rewards. Remaining away
from family on their special occasions for years at a stretch is not easy for
anyone, specially for one who didn't have a need to play for eking out a
living anymore or for winning more laurels than he'd already done. He could've chosen to depart earlier; just that his passion & dedication kept
him going for so long.
Determination
For two dozen years, Tendulkar sparked the imagination of every Indian and carried their dreams on his shoulders, and it took a lot of determination to continue to do that for so long. He did not teach India how to win against the stiffest competition even in their own backyard (Sourav Ganguly did that), but he taught India to believe in themselves and be ready to take on the might of anyone, and then give some back. He taught India to dream, and dream big. What we couldn't achieve in our everyday lives, we looked at Tendulkar to make up for on the cricket field. His passion to play for India, dominate the fiercest of bowlers and will to win every single match made him a darling of the masses and a nightmare for his competitors. And all of this came through fierce determination, a lot of self-belief and an excessively professional approach.
When back injury and a tennis elbow threatened to ruin his career, there was immense speculation that he would be forced to quit. Globally, almost every newspaper, sports channel and website carried detailed medical diagnosis and plainly asked whether his career was over. Surely, he'd made enough money to live quite luxuriously and yet leave a lot for the next few generations, they argued, and he could quit playing without a worry. But would he be able to do that, or would we get yet another opportunity to see him in action? Many even said (including yours truly) that his era was over, and he should accept what fate had thrown at him and retire gracefully. But, he came back with even more determination and silenced all the critics.
Demeanour
It is well known that at the nets, once Sachin puts on his pads,
he does not take them off very easily. Even after he is done with batting, he
makes it a point to bowl in the nets or sit at a side and keep watching till the
last man comes off. Then, gently, he would offer his observations and give some
tips to help the batsmen and the bowlers improve. His magnificent demeanour can
also be gauged by observing him when he is thronged by fans. Unless he is
terribly mobbed, he always stops to sign autographs for children. If a
photograph is requested, he is polite to a fault. He always takes a bit of time
to ask kids what class they are studying in, or some similar question that
makes them feel that the little master cares.
Those who know
Tendulkar well speak of a warm individual
who cherishes his friendships and associations. Gautam Bhimani, the ESPN
anchor, who was once invited over to Tendulkar's house on his birthday, had
this to say: "It never felt as if I was interviewing India's biggest
sporting icon and superstar. It was more like being invited home by a loving
father who was excited about the fact that his kids had made special cards and
woken him up in the morning to wish him." Such is the simplicity of Sachin.
He never comes late to
any practice session, never comes late to the team bus, never comes late to any
meeting. And then, he is ready for
anything on the cricket field. In a match - despite being highly competitive - he
has never let raw emotion take over him while rejoicing a century or bemoaning
a dismissal. His celebrations when an opposing team wicket falls are child-like,
not wild-like. When disappointed with a decision, he does not make any untoward
gestures. When given out wrongly, he may look crestfallen, but never steps out
of line, and continues the long walk back to the pavilion without any argument.
At a time when cricket
is going through arguably its most troubling episodes of match-fixing, people
are desperate for someone who stands for all that is good about the game. And
Tendulkar is often the man who has had to carry that cross. He is one cricketer
whose integrity has never ever been questioned. Does he want to be known as an
example of all things good? Probably not. He wanted to be a normal cricket player,
with all his weaknesses and faults. But we treated him like God... and he
responded.
No
wonder, he's been conferred India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna,
in the process becoming the very first sportsperson to receive the same and
also becoming the youngest ever awardee across all genres. It is a
well-deserved honour not for those records, but for setting a shining example
of how one must follow his profession and lead his life... with utmost honesty
& humility.
Well played, Sachin. Have a great life ahead!
© Shailesh Nigam
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