End of an era. Or is it?

He is probably the only person that all 1.2 billion of us would be able to recognize instantly. And also, he would probably be the only person for whom each of the 1.2 billion of us would have an opinion/viewpoint on. Ever since the tender age of 16, when he stood up to face the music against the likes of Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Allan Donald etc, he has been under constant scrutiny by everyone around - The media (both national as well as international), his teammates, opposition teams, ex-colleagues, random others et al. At times, given the extraordinary amount of information that gets captured on him, it seems as if the media corporations have gone on to create a completely separate division just to pursue each & every story pertaining to the little guy. Millions of articles have been penned in praise of the Master Blaster & an equally substantial amount of literature has been produced by people who have been much less appreciative of his superheroic feats. And believe me, as an ardent fan speaking here, as much as an ecstatic pleasure is it to read about the sheer brilliance of the guy; it can get immensely frustrating when certain ‘wise-men’ of the game & the media share their never-ending disappointments in him.

I guess, as a nation, we have developed a habit of cribbing & complaining about everything. The causes for those complaints might be varied, ranging from the ever-rising inflation to the all too frequent occurrences of multi-billion dollar corruption scams. Whatever the reason might be, we are beginning to act like a big bunch of irritated people looking for avenues to vent out our anger. And inadvertently, at times, we end up criticizing the very man, who has been the source of our cricketing joys for the past 22 years. It gets even worse when some ‘Cricketing Legends’, who even in their heyday would have been no match for the guy in mention here, start with their uncalled-for-wisdom of asking the Greatest-Player-ever-to-hold-a-cricket-bat, to hang up his boots. I understand people would still harbor apprehensions at handing over the Greatest Ever tag to him, but I believe it just doesn’t make sense to equate a statistical figure (agreed 99.94 is an astoundingly incredible batting average to achieve) to the greatness of a player. The Don was indeed the greatest batsman of his era & also among the many generations of players that preceded & followed him. But, just on comparison between the two greatest players in the history of the game, the scale of achievements of the Little Master seems to hold quite an edge over that of his counterpart from a previous era. Yes, if someone does want to pour over the statistics; please refer to them in detail to take into account an exhaustive view of things, before coming to a conclusion. When the Don himself was wise enough to realize the greatness of this player, its just plain stupid of these other lesser mortals to raise their objections on the matter. And apparently these ‘Cricket Experts’ express their displeasure on a multitude of issues ranging from the guy’s pursuit of selfish interests rather than the team’s to even suggestions on his impending retirement.  

At this juncture a certain question arises that has stumped me for quite a long time - Why the hell are we so inordinately obsessed with this guy?

Some might say its because of our craze for his sheer out-of-the-world talent! But then haven’t we witnessed the performances of other equally, if not more, talented people in our country? India has produced & applauded scores of talented geniuses across disciplines ranging from sports to art, music to literature & the likes.

Some might mention our fascination with the insanely long tenure of his cricketing career! So what - Our very own Bradman-of-India, Colonel CK Nayudu played his final Ranji Trophy match aged 62!

Some might argue about our respect for his humble, down-to-earth personality even at such insane heights of stardom! That’s true, but still is it a quality that the billion of us would adore!

Well, so what is it? My guess, & this was arrived at after a lot of pondering over the matter, is that its simply because of a perfect mix of all of them, stated above, plus a million other ideal qualities that he has come to epitomize. He has turned out to be that one perfect human being that all of us can look up to. Seldom have we come across an individual, leave alone a sportsperson, in history who could command such adulation from the legions of his fans around the world. And all his has been possible purely because of his simple, child-like, fun-filled passion for the game. He still plays the game, & I mean ALL the matches, with the same intensity & passion as he did when he started out as a kid. Its only this pure & unadulterated love for the game which has powered him to achieve this greatness. All one needs with such undying passion & love is just a bit of talent to achieve greatness; not to allude that he has ‘just a bit’ of talent!

So, why can’t we just let the man, who has been the source of our enjoyment over the years, enjoy his game to the full without a worry on his back! Why can’t we just stay mesmerized with his antics on the field & have no new expectations to thrust on him, now that he has achieved every possible glory the world can offer!

Let’s just sit back & enjoy that sublime cover drive. Let’s just jump in sheer excitement over that amazingly awesome upper cut six. Let’s just recall those many memorable innings with the visuals of the Warnes, McGraths, Akthars being blasted around the park. Let’s just bask in the glory of the laurels that he has brought to our nation. Let’s just thank the almighty to have been privileged enough to the have witnessed his master class acts time & again over the last 2 decades. And finally let’s just thank him for being there.

I know there are some supreme figures having already secured their places in cricket’s Pantheon. And in the times to come there would be more who would come, enthrall with their cricketing talents & perhaps enter the Pantheon of the cricketing greats. But even in that Pantheon the Master Blaster would occupy a pedestal above all & would be revered in ages to come.

 Guys, just get a hold of this - There is, & would be, just one SACHIN TENDULKAR. Respect him, Admire Him, Worship Him; Just enjoy the God’s presence on the cricket field for who knows when this glorious era of his super-awesome deeds might come to an end! 

The world of Bats & Balls

Cricket. Or Kirkit or Bat ball. In the leagues of gully cricket it goes by many names, but the spirit of the game remains high. Its not just a sport in India, its actually a way of life. From our grandfathers to our fathers to us, everybody has played the game at some level or the other. While in the developed countries the sport is played with proper kits on idyllic cricket grounds complete with specially rolled turf pitches & with full rules in force, in India the game can be seen played pretty much everywhere from stadiums to parks to gullies to roads to memorials to parking lots to office complexes to classrooms with anything even remotely resembling a bat and any round object similar to a ball.

This isn’t a national sport but it’s a national obsession. Some may even call it a religion with Sachin Tendulkar revered as the Almighty GOD. Here the fans are not just mere fans but dedicated disciples. Fans have made temples for their Gods (players) and spend their lives in sincere devotion. Cricket unites the whole nation where boundaries created by religion, caste, region, status etc. seems to vanish in the event of a mesmerizing contest going on in the cricket field. People from all walks of life come together to a neighborhood park to play from dawn to dusk for no other purpose other than for the mere joy of the game.

The much hyped, newest version of the game, Twenty20 Cricket, has its roots in the gully cricket played all across India, where matches of 5 overs a side or 10 overs a side are the norm. Batsmen are ever so eager to swing the bat on every delivery to hit the maximum and run for their lives at each opportunity of a run. Bowlers attack the stumps bowling Yorkers to get the batsmen out. Fielders dive around grassless surfaces, getting bruised all over in the process, just to stop each ball coming in their direction. Motormouths of the neighborhood would start their own version of fast paced commentary, calling fielders names as amusing as they would get. And oldies who come for their evening stroll pray for their goddamn lives and women in their homes brace themselves from balls flying about, shattering the odd window pane here & there.

So friends it’s about being unashamed about our version of Cricket, being able to enjoy it as a sport or fun or hobby or pastime and bringing joy to the hidden child in us who longs to hold a bat and whack the ball or try different variations of dusra with ball or imitate Murali or Sachin. Here, it is a sport of the masses and it will continue to capture the fancy of generations to come. “Oye mera bat hai, main nai khelta aur, bye”.