I am not an atheist. I have only one god when it comes to sports- Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, Right Hand Batsmen, right arm-medium/spin bowler, plays/has played for Mumbai/Yorkshire/India. And I am not alone.
Born on 24th April, 1973, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is indeed an icon of the third world nation that is India(and of course, the world), and is one of our brightest stars. Few people have captured the hearts of the nation as this little five-foot something young man has done. Be it his trademark cover drives, fluent straight drives, his fixing of the helmet after every ball or chewing his nails while fielding, he is an epitome of commitment, concentration and humility. 70 odd centuries in international cricket, what can you say to this man!!
Sachin started out in humble beginnings-his father was a professor who inspired Sachin to try his hand out at different things. And so he did- his elder brother got him enrolled at a cricket coaching centre under the tutelage of the legendary coach, Sir Ramakanth Achrekar, who has churned out the likes of Vinod Kambli and Pravin Amre.
Initially, Achrekar refused to take into his wing the nervous Sachin, but on a second visit, did admit him. It was then the bandwagon started rolling. How Sachin was moulded into a world-class cricketer is the stuff of legend. At the tender age of fourteen, Sachin started his day early in the morning in the field, where he practised until it was time for school.
After school, he rushed back to his favourite haunt and continued on his favourite forte. Sometimes when he batted, Achrekar kept a one rupee coin on his stumps. If any bowler could get him out, the coin would be theirs. If not, Sachin would get to keep it. Sachin still has fourteen of those coins to his credit. Soon, Sachin enrolled into Shardashram school, as it had a reputation for encouraging its students to participate in sports.
Sachin joined the school team, and was soon practising entire days for months on end. He first came into the limelight when he and old friend Vinod Kambli shared an unbeaten partnership of 664 against Xavier’s in which he scored 326 not out. It was soon after this that the 14 year old he was called by the then India captain Dilip Vengsarkar for a practice session with the Indian team. Before this, in the preceeding school matches, he had an average of 1034 with scores of 27 not out, 125, 207 not out, 346 not out and 329 not out!! He also made his first-class debut soon afterwards, and is the only player to score a century on debut in Ranji, Duleep and Irani Trophies.
Sachin made his test debut at the tender age of 16 years and 205 days against Pakistan at Karachi. He scored only 15, but bounced back in the next match to score a fifty, and also got a bloodied nose courtesy Wasim Akram. As a result, he became the youngest Indian player to make his debut in a Test match, as well as the youngest ever to score a fifty. Shortly afterwards, he made his one day debut.
Sachin got his Test century a few months later when India toured England, when he scored a fantastic 110 and announced himself to the cricketing world. I remember this especially because my dad was in England at that time, and he was in a pub. The guy at the bar counter called him and said ’’Hey, do you know a fantastic young kid from your country absolutely blasted our bowlers today ? His name is Sachin Tendulkar.’’ And my dad got his drinks free that day. As of today, Sachin has 34 centuries to his credit and is almost touching 10000 runs. He is yet to be 32!!
For his one day century, he had to wait for 78 matches before he got one against Australia. But he more than made up for that by making 35 centuries in his next 260 matches, which means that he made a century every 7 matches or so. And he has become the player with the most one day centuries and the highest number of runs(about 11000).
That he is a fierce competitor goes without saying. Even after 325 odd ODI’s and 100 plus test matches, he still gets butterflies in his stomach before getting on the field. Every run for himself and for his team are taken with equal pride and determination, every ball bowled with a vengeance, every ball chased with passion. The adorable smile on his face after every wicket, every victory says it all-he is a man who truly plays for the pride of his nation and the millions of fans who simply adore him.
Every brand he sponsors is sure to be a commercial success, and Sachin and Amitabh Bachchan are the most sought after brand ambassadors. Every kid who plays cricket wants to be Sachin, every fan who wants an autograph wants Sachin’s, every player who watches an India match wants a Sachin century and every man who knows anything about cricket and is worth his salt knows that Sachin Tendulkar is God when it comes to cricket. Nothing less, nothing more.
As a person, Sachin is as humble as they come. Never outspoken, never in any controversy, Sachin has not allowed success to go to his head unlike some of our other sportstars. Until a few years back, he used to live in the same flat he had lived in since his childhood, and has shifted only after the birth of his two children. Supportive of any cause at whatever time, he has stood up and given something back every time he has been approached. The most expensive player in the world of cricket still has his head upon his shoulders and this quality has earned him millions of admirers.
Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Geoffrey Boycott, Richie Benaud and the legend Donald Bradman are lost for words in their praise for this maestro...
And so am I....