Sachinnnn Sachinnn !.. Sachinnnn Sachinnnn !.. Sachinnnn Sachinnnn !..

"Sachinnnn  Sachinnnn” “Sachinnnn  Sachinnnn” “Sachinnnn  Sachinnnn” !!! This is the most iterated rhyme of a 90s Indian kid which includes myself. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

   For a kid born in early 90s like me, cricket was nothing but SACHIN TENDULKAR. We grew up along with Sachin's career, watching him becoming the best in the business, becoming the GOD of the game we loved. We watched cricket just to watch him bat. Every time he went out to bat, we wanted him to score a century and win it all by himself for the country. That mattered to us the most, than anything else. He made our childhood to be precise.

But as I grew up, I started understanding the game more. I understood Sachin more. But one thing never changed. Sachin’s batting gave us joy. Throughout those 24 years, in all those 664 international appearances he made, we wanted him to bat for as long as possible.

When we look back at Sachin’s journey, there are a lot of untold stories. What everyone knows is that Sachin was a childhood prodigy who took the world by storm and scripted an unimaginable story in the history of the game. But what most people didn’t know is that Sachin was the most blessed child of his generation. Like Rahul Dravid mentioned recently in the MAK Pataudi lecture, Sachin got the best support system possible, for a kid who possessed unimaginable talent and immense hard work.

Sachin was so blessed to get a brother like Ajit, a mentor like Ramakant Acherekar. It’s so interesting that the career of Sachin coincides with the most important phase of Indian economy. In 1991 Sachin had just started to take the centre stage of the sport. It was in the same year Economic liberalisation was brought into act by then Indian Government. Sponsors flew in towards the wonder kid of the second most populated country. Cable TVs, Colour televisions entered the lives of the middle-class people. Sachin was now visually available at almost every single home in India.

Every single house/family owned him, as if he was their own. To be honest, that’s a curse as much as it’s a blessing. 1997-2003 was the span in which Sachin was at his peak. It’s amazing that he was in form for almost six long years. He was the nightmare for every single opposition. Most teams believed that if they got Sachin, they’ve won the match. Irony is that, almost every Indian thought so. Most of them switched off the TV as soon as Sachin got out.

Luckily my home wasn’t in that list. The love for the game I had is in my gene. At least I believe so. The interest towards cricket at home goes long back into the days of radio commentary, when there were no televisions in the native village were my Dad grew up. It was he, who made me realise that cricket is not just about Sachin. It’s a team game. And more importantly, anything is possible in cricket.

It’s not that people at home didn’t like Sachin. We adored him as much as anybody else in the country. But they just know that the game is bigger than any individual. This is something that even Sachin has said himself.

On field Sachin as an individual, was a Genius. He worked hard as much as a person could at his game. Technique wise he‘s a freak. Every time he went out to bat, he wanted to dominate the bowler, whoever he may be. His hunger and appetite for runs is unimaginable.

The way he handled himself on the field made everyone love him. There were a billion people who wanted to make his dream of winning a world cup come true. When he finally lifted it after 22 long years, most people cried in joy for him winning the world cup than the country winning it.  

Once he retired, the book of Sachin got released. The title of the book “Playing it my way” suited him the most. True, Sachin played the game in his own way, which was unimaginable for anybody else. That is the reason why the whole world is in awe of him even now. But in the book, more than joy which he gave on the field, a fine line of rage was clearly visible at many places. I would have preferred the dressing room things remain within, than exposing it to the world. I wouldn’t complain though, as he was honest.

Even now whilst writing this, two years after his retirement there is only one thing I remember when I think about him. Thinking about Sachin’s batting gives me only Happiness. I am always grateful to him for making my childhood with awesome memories. Don’t think me as if I didn’t love him as much as the country did. I am one of those billion fans who cried on 16-Nov-2013. Believe me, I did. Happy birthday Sachin !