Sachin Tendulkar

March 3, 2007

Sachin Tendulkar, youâ€™ve probably not heard of cricket but the name surely sounds familiar. Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the greatest cricketer the world has ever seen, featuring in the dream teams of every cricketer- past and present â€“ in both forms of the game. While great players take the game to a next level, Sachin has added another dimension to this beautiful game, doing things with a piece of willow no one else could imagine. It is for this reason probably that the great Sir Don Bradman compared Sachin Tendulkar to himself, Brian Lara considers himself a mere mortal in front of him and Warne has nightmares of Sachin hitting him all over the park. It will not be unwise to say that what Sachin can do, no one else in the world can do. There are players, good players, and great players and there is Sachin Tendulkar. He is the game of cricket, one of the very few in every sport who make the sport what it is, popularizing it, stretching its scope, and taking it to the crowds, making the sport an exhibition of human celebration and achievement, a piece of art. Sachin Tendulkar is to cricket what Laver was to tennis, what Mohammad Ali was to Boxing, what Schumachar was to Formula one, and what probably Tiger Woods is to Golf.

Sachin Tendulkar is probably responsible for making the game of cricket a religion in India . Former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu relates how an old man in a secluded village in India who had no idea about the game put things in place when in response to Sidhu telling him that he played cricket, he remarked â€“ you play that sport which Tendulkar plays. This was when Sidhu had played much more cricket than Tendulkar. Sachin is without a doubt the man responsible for taking cricket to the nooks and corners of the country where electricity and clean water are still a distant dream.

Sachin Tendulkar made his debut at the young age of 16, against arch rivals Pakistan in 1989. Though there is little the record books give us to boast of that tour, what the enthusiasts recall is the four sixes he hit in a single over of Abdul Qadirâ€™s bowling in an unofficial match. All who saw him had no doubts about his genius. He scored his first test century in 1990 against England in Old Trafford. What followed is now part of the cricketing folklore. He came to be known as one of the best after his exquisite display of quality batting against the Australians in Perth , in one of the toughest pitches to bat on. As Tendulkar hit ball after ball, sweetly timed and cleverly placed to the boundary, counter-acting the bounce of the deadly tracked, the journalists started to take notice of the young boy with curly hair. It was when he completed his century and was receiving a standing ovation from a crowd witnessing a breathtaking spectacle, that an old journalist stood up and said, â€œgentlemen this is the best batsman Iâ€™ve ever seen bat, and unlike most of you Iâ€™ve seen Sir Don bat.â€ From then on, Sachin has not looked back, playing innings after innings of exceptional quality and high standard, winning matches and making India one of the best teams in the world. Inspiring thousands of youngsters all over the world, Sachin has been the architect of the new improved Indian team.

Sachin has been a important part of most of Indiaâ€™s successes, being the top run-scorer in the 1996 world cup (a record in terms of runs) taking India to the Semis and the player of the tournament in the 2003 world cup (helping India make it to the finals). His record against all teams, especially the mighty Australians, has been exemplary, scoring tons of runs in all conditions under all circumstances. Records have hardly any significance for this humble and modest man who has the highest number of runs and centuries in both forms of the game. He also has the maximum number of Man of the Match awards along with a number of other prestigious national and international awards. None of them, the records and awards, can do justice to the great cricketer that he is, striking not only with the bat but also many a times with the ball and his quick alert fielding.

This quiet, shy player who stands at 5â€™4â€ probably has more presence than anyone else in the game. His entry to the ground anywhere in the world is marked by chants of Sachin-Sachin, everyone hoping to see his innovative strokes- be it the on-drive or the paddle sweep. This player with every shot in the book and umpteen number of tricks up his sleeve in the field will be India â€™s trump card for the 2007 world cup. Like always the whole country is wishing for him to do well, cause if Sachin fires there is no one stopping India from lifting the Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar

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