It is just one of those days when I am finding it difficult to give shape to my thoughts through words. I do not know where to begin with because a feeling as overwhelming as this has never happened before. An exam in two days and a splitting headache would not be good enough reasons for not saying a good bye to this gentleman who has defined cricket for me and because of whom I started watching cricket.
I am a 90s child. All I heard while growing up was 'Cricket'. And with cricket came the word Sachin. I hated it when the only channel we had then-Doordarshan, showed some bunch of guys wearing white and playing a game all day. My cousins would not come out to play and I would not get to watch something of my choice.Initially, I never watched a cricket match because I wanted to. I just had to because I had no choice. I didn't know any other cricketer for a very long time because I never heard anyone talk about anyone else. I didn't know what a gully,mid on or long off was. I used to hear those guys in the commentary box saying different things about run rate,strike rate and bowling speed. It never made any sense to me. But I was still there, watching him move the ball to boundary while the country erupted with joy.And when he was at the crease, the country remained still. That's when I knew he is much more than 'just a player'. I didn't care if his straight drive was best in the world or how he lifted the ball. I just had to see him play.
He started playing one month before I was born. He was my Super-man when I was a kid, a huge crush when I was a teenager and a man whom I respect immensely now. For the first 10-12 years of my life I watched him because I had to. And then, I watched him because I wanted to. That incident from the 1999 World Cup when he looked at the sky after scoring 140 of 101 against Kenya is etched in my memory. And that was the most defining moment for me from the world of cricket. Then came the 2003 World Cup and that match against Pakistan. I remember it was a Maha Shiv Ratri and I prayed that I would stay awake all night if he made a century. A kind of prayer I am sure I would have never made even for my most important exam. He didn't score a century and I didn't think it was necessary for me to keep my promise. Call it lame or stupidity but I knew I did it for him.I saw him reaching that 200 in Gwalior and smiled. I saw it coming sooner or later anyway. And when I saw him live, playing an IPL match, I couldn't have asked for more.
Yesterday when he retired, I didn't feel anything. I didn't want to accept it at first. I kept telling myself that I will still see him in test matches or an IPL match (yes, that's a solace too). But that sinking feeling refuses to go. Now, when I see a match being played, I know I ll never ask 'is sachin playing?' He has kept the country busy for two decades. And we have kept him busy too with the constant criticism and expectations which were humanly impossible to achieve.And yet he did. It is hard to let him go but then he needs the rest more than anyone. And will I stop watching cricket because he retired? No, because that is a sad way of looking at his retirement for me. It is something he loved the most and its the thing I love the most. Now, let that man have some rest. Let him put his feet up and judge others. I am glad I was born in an age where I could see history being written.
Thank you Mr Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. You will be missed!
(Photo courtesy- Google images)
