Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Why I am a fan of Sachin Tendulkar

Now, India has won the ICC world cup, fans and followers of Cricket from 1984 can heave a huge sigh of relief! Finally India has got the dream cup in their hands. As one of the followers of the game, who had been following it for more than two and half decades, it gives lot of happiness and a great relief for passionately following and cheering for such a long time.

Though I was born in 1978, I did not knew about Cricket in 1983, and so missed the moments of victory, glory or pride. I started watching and learning Cricket in January 1986. I even remember the first match that I saw in Television. It was between India and Australia (happening somewhere in Australia), and India lost the match by 4 wickets.

Sketch of Sachin Tendulkar by Narwadeshwar Sharma
During those times, I used to hope that India win every match! It was a time, when India had great players (like Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri etc...) but somehow was failing to win matches against top teams like Australia, England, West Indies, and Pakistan (Yes pakistan was a very strong team at that time!). Though India did win matches against the minnows like Srilanka (yes, they were considered as juniors in Cricket at that time!), Zimbabwe, New Zealand and some other odd teams like UAE (Yes, they existed!), somehow, the fans like me were not very happy with India losing against the big boys of Cricket!

In those times, even against strong teams, the Indian team would typically start well (thanks to Srikanth, Sidhu), but finally end up as bad losers, pushing the viewer to despair mode. To put the point clear, scoring at a runrate of more than 5.5 became an impossible task for the Indian cricket team (Kapil Dev was nearing the end of his career). It was during those times, that the Sharjah cup was very popular, where India used to meet Pakistan. And against Pakistan, India failed miserably, many a times.

It was during that period Sachin Tendulkar, a young boy of 19 years, (whom I could easily relate to, as he was just 5 years older than me), entered the scene. He gave hope and hope, to the viewers that India can win such matches. It was this hope that made me (and probably millions of such other people) an instant fan of him. He gave the required amunition for India to fight and though we lost matches against better teams, losing by putting up a fight was much better than losing without it.

This started to develop as a trend, and as years passed by, he got promoted himself to the opening position, which he did not give up till today, and in that position, he shook even the strongest of teams, and there was a point in time, when Tendulkar carried the entire team on his shoulders - which meant, that if he goes without significant contribution, then the game is lost for India. Tendulkar did really well against strong teams like Australia, South Africa etc..., which differentiated him from others.

Ofcourse there were periods when Tendulkar performed badly, but his hunger for runs and continued passion and focus on the game, with some support he received, saw him as an indispensable member of the team. He also quickly realized that Captaincy is not for him, and his decision to focus on his game, eventually won him accolades that he is getting now.

MS Dhoni too entered the scene in almost a similar fashion, proving that he can win matches. His hard-hitting coupled with his leadership abilities did make India a strong team, in all the cups or tournaments it contested. This was this hope, that made many a millions, a fan of him. In some sense, he can be related to Kapil Dev, who was admired by many during his times, for many of his qualities.

Update - November 2013: As Sachin Tendulkar retires from all forms of cricket, it's been really emotional to all who admire him, especially those who belong to his generation and who watched him play from the beginning of his career. He acknowledges this by saying "Each generation gets this opportunity to take care of this sport". Accepting that Change being the only constant in the concept of time, this was expected, and probably was anticipated after India won the world cup in 2011. Here's the link to his farewell speech.


His message urging to play the game in the right spirit and right values will for sure be the quote of future.  His passionate commitment had made him a great achiever  - the one who spent 24 years in between 22 yards! which his detractors could not understand or relate to, despite all physical injuries. Well, for now his detractors can go and look for somebody else!

As said earlier, when he entered the Indian Cricket team, he gave 'hope' that India can win matches against the best teams, and now he leaves a team, that has been doing it! Needless to say, all of the current players and many of the future players have been and will be influenced and inspired by this true legend.  

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