A tribute to Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. The name is quite complete and magical by itself. Adjectives, will not be quite sufficient to describe the glorious 24 years of cricket he has played and been pleasing us with his wonder and waltz over the 22-yards pitch.

It’s not a coincidence that I am writing on him, it’s been quite for some time that I was willing to roll my pen on paper and pay some tribute to him, however small it is.

Let’s start with the star’s childhood. Sachin Tendulkar was born on the 24 th of April, 1973. The child’s father, Ramesh Tendulkar, named the boy after his favourite music composer, Sachin Dev Burman, who was considered a phenomenon in the music world at that time (and even now). 14 years later could his father only realize that naming him Sachin hadn’t been any mistake, as he could literally play upon the bowlers with his fantastic and rhythmic batting skills as Sachin Dev Burman could mesmerize people with his enchanting music skill. Seeing his innate cricket skills and interest, his elder brother Ajit Tendulkar decided to appoint Sachin to a coaching school under the supervision of Ramakant Achrekar, a renowned cricket coach. He used to keep a coin over a stump (wicket) and tell the trainees, whoever takes a wicket will get that coin, or else the batsman will. Tendulkar managed to get 13 of those coins, batting all day, where none could get his wicket. On this day now, though he is one of the richest players out there (possessing approximately 1000 crore INR), Tendulkar still considers those 13 coins to be the most prized possessions of his life.

Tendulkar was brought into limelight with his 664-run partnership with his bosom friend, Vinod Kambli in an inter-school cricket match. They literally whacked the bowlers to tears, causing them to refuse to bowl anymore to Sachin and Kambli! After that achievement Sachin didn’t have to look back. His graph of prized possessions and statistics kept soaring up like a rocket. He broke records after records and made new ones – taking them to such a height which makes us, the spectators, stand in awe if those would ever be broken again! His adept style of playing earned him a lot of nicknames as well – the Little Master, the Master Blaster, the God of cricket. USA President Barack Obama once said that, "I don't know about cricket but still I watch cricket to see Sachin play. Not because I love his play but

because I want to know the reason why my country's production goes down by five per cent when he's in batting." It is already a well-known fact that the countries of the Indian subcontinent are always fanatic about cricket. It is said that, when Sachin batted the Indian road and traffic conditions hit less congestion, as most of the streets become empty.

Now let’s tell about my childhood fascination towards Sachin too. I was a great fan of Sachin from the time I could understand cricket. I don’t hang posters of any type, but with Sachin, it has always been an exception. Let me give you an instance of my love towards him. Whenever Sachin got out, I used to get angry over the bowler at first, ‘beat’ that bowler up in my imagination, next, get upset and pray to God to make Sachin invincible (not out) the next time! Such were my devotion to this man. Not only am I amazed by his cricket skills but also his humble and modest personality in and out of the field. His complete sportsmanship attitude helped him to stay out of any major controversies and keep his record clean - without the smudge of any black ink over his entire 24 years of cricket life. This just shows how much concentrated and ethical he has been in his game. His numerous awards include some of the national honours too, including the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna. Also Padma Vibhusan, Padma Shri, Maharashtra Bhushan, Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna were awarded by the Indian Government.

On the other side of his cricket life, Sachin is also quite successful with his family. He has married Anjali, a pediatrician, and the couple has two kids – Sara and Arjun. Arjun is also taking his father’s treaded path – cricket. Recently he has been included in the under-14 list of Mumbai Cricket Association. Though Sachin has been under limelight for quite a long time, he has been a successful father to Sara and Arjun and has also been able to stow his personal life away from the media.

The outstanding reign of Sachin – with an impressive record book holding 100 centuries and more than 30,000 runs – came to an end on the 16 th of November this year, 2013, with a very stirring and poignant finishing speech from the great man.

Many might consider him not to be the best, but to me, he was and will be the best player and entertainer of cricket of all times. Maybe, for me, cricket will never be the same again.

You will be remembered, Sachin. Take care.

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Quotes on Sachin Tendulkar:

"I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to breathe the same air as you do." - Shahrukh Khan, Indian actor

“50,000 runs for Sachin Tendulkar. Crazy!!! Don't think another batsman will score that many runs even with his Xbox & playstation runs added.” – Ravi Bopara, English cricketer

"Thank You Sachin for everything that you have given us, your fans. There will never be another like you." – Aamir Khan, Indian actor

"I have seen God. He bats at number four for India." – Matthew Hayden, Australian cricketer

“There are two kind of batsmen in the world. One, Sachin Tendulkar. Two, all the others.” – Andy Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer