The Eternal Sunshine of a Cricketing Mind
The Inimitable Genius of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
Sachin is injured again and the detailed anatomy of another part of the human body, seemingly “undiscovered” to most of us so far, is going to be the obsessive focus of the print, the visual media, and a million other people for the next few months. Doctors, physiotherapists, and an endless list of former cricketers are going to make a quick buck with their expert comments. Some will write his cricketing obituary and, if and when he does come back, a few others will endeavour to give him some advice about how play the cricket ball, never having put it use themselves when it mattered. Almost everyone will have an opinion, which will most certainly depend on his or her demographic identity and the loyalties that tend to come with it, and will express it with unflinching passion. But little does this cricket crazy nation understand that the only opinion that counts is his own, and if you can expect an honest opinion about this from anyone, it is him.
For 16 years, he has given this nation of perennial escapists a real escape route. Those rasping cover drives and disdainful pulls were lyrical expressions of a language that transcended all borders of religion, caste, creed, social status, professional hierarchial position etc, bringing a genuine smile to many a soul. Anxious parents awaiting their wards return and their adventurous wards desperately seeking to invent a fresh reason for their late return, Bosses with fragile tempers and their frustrated employees, warring neighbours, henpecked husbands and their doubting wives, the head of a coalition government who is not sure if he will survive the next day’s confidence vote, the forgotten border sentry, whose only companion is a transistor stuck to his ear, not sure if he will survive the night and the average Indian labourer toiling away on a hot day, not sure where his next meal is going to come from…… They had all found a reason to cheer on an otherwise forgettable day. His exploits on the cricket field have done more to reduce the happiness threshold of the average Indian than any government welfare scheme to date.
To a nation that had started to become indifferent and bored with the predictable and unreal nature of its more famous escape route, the “Woods”, i.e, Bollywood, Tollywood Kollywood etc and its age defying heroes, a fresh and genuine piece of wood was beginning to swell their pride. Some, like the Magical Shane from down under, would vehemently argue that it’s a rapier that he had to contend with not just a piece of wood. To most ordinary Indians bred on years of submissive egos tending to view anything foreign as dominant and superior, a defiant young man had suddenly earned them the sole bragging rights. If Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath taught them to be defiant, Sachin took it another level higher and showed the thrills that come with total dominance. It was a journey that started with a 16 year old schoolboy whipping the daylights out of a fiery Aussie attack on a rocket launch pad in Perth, went through phases when the “White Lightning” felt as though he was bowling to a revolving door and the “Rawilpindi” express was consistently “diverted” through a million different routes to the boundary . Most of those who had to contend with this onslaught, bent in abject surrender. Some left with nightmares while others simply resorted to the most negative tactics known to try and keep him quiet. Through all of this, in both victory and defeat, his actions never failed to giver our much badgered prides that sense of levitation. If that famous last over when he snatched the ball from Azhar’s hand to bowl India to the most improbable victory had us jumping with joy, then his pain defying single handed effort at Chennai against Pakistan was a lesson on how to win even when you have lost. From defiant match saving efforts to impossible chases, he has done it all. He has taken cricket as a sport and a commercial vehicle to a different dimension both in India and abroad, yet remained the simple man that he has always been all through this. Cricket’s establishment as the common Indian’s obsession and favourite pastime and the subsequent filling of the BCCI ‘s coffers owe much to this man’s efforts both on and off the field. That is precisely the reason why it pains me , like it pains many others who follow the game, when half baked experts and a host of other fans with regional biases and ulterior motives, offer advice and sometimes even question his continuance comparing him with people not even half his measure.
Sachin isn’t my favourite cricketer by any measure. If I am anybody’s die hard fan, he is the uncomplaining Rahul Dravid. But if you follow Cricket and specially Indian Cricket, you cannot escape a bit of Sachin-Mania. An advertisement on TV read, “A hero is someone you can admire without an apology”, and by that measure Sachin is a superhero. He has had his fair share of failures, specially in the recent past. But Sachin’s persona is such that you cannot measure his commitment or his ability by a few failures. He has shown that to us recently. In 2004, after a long injury lay-off followed by a few off colour performances, Sachin scored a double hundred in Sydney, which Harsha Bhogle famously termed as the most uncharacteristic Sachin knock ever. I think that is where most people missed the truth. To me, it was the most characteristic Sachin knock ever. With everything, including his wearing body and abysmal form against him, he scored a double hundred without the flamboyance which you and I would like to associate with him, and that is precisely what makes Sachin the great cricketer that he his. That strength of character that enables him to mould himself to his own wavering abilities and be ever willing to learn and adapt when nothing is in his favour, is what Sachin is all about and it is this strength of character that will always make him stand out, irrespective of performance. You can never question his commitment to the Indian cricket team, whatever his performance maybe. With bat, ball on the field , in the nets or far away in a London hospital , his commitment never wavers a bit. I am sure he would be watching and cheering the Indians win, and he would not for a moment be threatened by a match winning performance from a youngster waiting to replace him on the long run. Sachin is well and truly beyond all that.
That brings us back to the same old question, is it time for him to hang his boots? The answer, to me is very simple. It’s a question that you and I or for that matter anyone in the ever growing list self-proclaimed cricket pundits shouldnt even dare to address, leave alone attempt to get answers. If any one has deserved the right to make that decision, it is Sachin himself, and knowing him, he will not delay the decision if and when its due. He knows what best he can do with his present abilities and he will always put the team’s needs in front of his own. You will never reach a situation when somebody has to start giving him hints or have a private “chat” with him. You will never find him arguing with the captain or the coach or crying foul to the board president or press. He would’nt do any of these, simply because he knows, more than any one of us do, that all this is simply “Not Quite Cricket”, and that is why he is not just a great player, he one of the greatest cricketers ever. And that is the reason why you and I should leave him alone. Remember the times when the line up faltered badly and Sachin walked in. We did not give up our hopes then since we trusted his commitment and ability, reassuring ourselves, “Sachin’s around, he will definitely try to do something”. I think we need to repose the same trust and faith in him, believing that, if he chooses to be around, he will do something. Till then, stop comparing him to all and sundry and leave him alone.
Like I said before, I am not a fanatical Sachin fan like my uncle, who believes that Sachin gets out only because some one walked in front of the sightscreen right at the moment and he is the sorts that would have to be restrained from cutting off people’s head should they ever attempt to criticize Sachin or question his commitment. But a fan of his I will always remain. I will always hope and pray that he fires, for the sheer joy of watching his blade flow. I will always believe for as long as he plays the game that he can turn a match around single-handedly, whether by paddling a Venom-spitting Warne turner against the spin to the fence or by bowling Inzy round his legs with a vicious leg break. For it is this very hope that has brought a smile to me a million times, every time I sought to escape the rigours of an otherwise hopeless day. His presence for as long as he chooses, will always be a boon to the game, just for the sheer brilliance of his cricketing brain. There is no end to the accolades that one can shower on his contributions, but the most unforgettable of them all came from my late grandmother. A strong character herself with a penchant to keep in touch with changing trends, she wasn’t the one to miss out family unions in front of the television, specially for a cricket match. While my acerbic uncle was vociferously ensuring that nobody moved places or switched positions while watching Sachin massacre a hapless Aussie attack on that famous night in Sharjah, she quietly turned to me and said, “I think that despite all the evils that happen around us today, there is some truth to the fact that all our ancestors have earned some good Karma, for India would not have been fortunate enough to have been blessed with someone like Sachin”. To me, that sums it all up. We are really blessed to have been part of a time when we could witness someone like Sachin at full flow, and we are fully justified in flattering ourselves into believing that as long as he chooses to be around on the cricket field, there is a miracle round the corner, waiting to happen.
For 16 years, he has given this nation of perennial escapists a real escape route. Those rasping cover drives and disdainful pulls were lyrical expressions of a language that transcended all borders of religion, caste, creed, social status, professional hierarchial position etc, bringing a genuine smile to many a soul. Anxious parents awaiting their wards return and their adventurous wards desperately seeking to invent a fresh reason for their late return, Bosses with fragile tempers and their frustrated employees, warring neighbours, henpecked husbands and their doubting wives, the head of a coalition government who is not sure if he will survive the next day’s confidence vote, the forgotten border sentry, whose only companion is a transistor stuck to his ear, not sure if he will survive the night and the average Indian labourer toiling away on a hot day, not sure where his next meal is going to come from…… They had all found a reason to cheer on an otherwise forgettable day. His exploits on the cricket field have done more to reduce the happiness threshold of the average Indian than any government welfare scheme to date.
To a nation that had started to become indifferent and bored with the predictable and unreal nature of its more famous escape route, the “Woods”, i.e, Bollywood, Tollywood Kollywood etc and its age defying heroes, a fresh and genuine piece of wood was beginning to swell their pride. Some, like the Magical Shane from down under, would vehemently argue that it’s a rapier that he had to contend with not just a piece of wood. To most ordinary Indians bred on years of submissive egos tending to view anything foreign as dominant and superior, a defiant young man had suddenly earned them the sole bragging rights. If Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath taught them to be defiant, Sachin took it another level higher and showed the thrills that come with total dominance. It was a journey that started with a 16 year old schoolboy whipping the daylights out of a fiery Aussie attack on a rocket launch pad in Perth, went through phases when the “White Lightning” felt as though he was bowling to a revolving door and the “Rawilpindi” express was consistently “diverted” through a million different routes to the boundary . Most of those who had to contend with this onslaught, bent in abject surrender. Some left with nightmares while others simply resorted to the most negative tactics known to try and keep him quiet. Through all of this, in both victory and defeat, his actions never failed to giver our much badgered prides that sense of levitation. If that famous last over when he snatched the ball from Azhar’s hand to bowl India to the most improbable victory had us jumping with joy, then his pain defying single handed effort at Chennai against Pakistan was a lesson on how to win even when you have lost. From defiant match saving efforts to impossible chases, he has done it all. He has taken cricket as a sport and a commercial vehicle to a different dimension both in India and abroad, yet remained the simple man that he has always been all through this. Cricket’s establishment as the common Indian’s obsession and favourite pastime and the subsequent filling of the BCCI ‘s coffers owe much to this man’s efforts both on and off the field. That is precisely the reason why it pains me , like it pains many others who follow the game, when half baked experts and a host of other fans with regional biases and ulterior motives, offer advice and sometimes even question his continuance comparing him with people not even half his measure.
Sachin isn’t my favourite cricketer by any measure. If I am anybody’s die hard fan, he is the uncomplaining Rahul Dravid. But if you follow Cricket and specially Indian Cricket, you cannot escape a bit of Sachin-Mania. An advertisement on TV read, “A hero is someone you can admire without an apology”, and by that measure Sachin is a superhero. He has had his fair share of failures, specially in the recent past. But Sachin’s persona is such that you cannot measure his commitment or his ability by a few failures. He has shown that to us recently. In 2004, after a long injury lay-off followed by a few off colour performances, Sachin scored a double hundred in Sydney, which Harsha Bhogle famously termed as the most uncharacteristic Sachin knock ever. I think that is where most people missed the truth. To me, it was the most characteristic Sachin knock ever. With everything, including his wearing body and abysmal form against him, he scored a double hundred without the flamboyance which you and I would like to associate with him, and that is precisely what makes Sachin the great cricketer that he his. That strength of character that enables him to mould himself to his own wavering abilities and be ever willing to learn and adapt when nothing is in his favour, is what Sachin is all about and it is this strength of character that will always make him stand out, irrespective of performance. You can never question his commitment to the Indian cricket team, whatever his performance maybe. With bat, ball on the field , in the nets or far away in a London hospital , his commitment never wavers a bit. I am sure he would be watching and cheering the Indians win, and he would not for a moment be threatened by a match winning performance from a youngster waiting to replace him on the long run. Sachin is well and truly beyond all that.
That brings us back to the same old question, is it time for him to hang his boots? The answer, to me is very simple. It’s a question that you and I or for that matter anyone in the ever growing list self-proclaimed cricket pundits shouldnt even dare to address, leave alone attempt to get answers. If any one has deserved the right to make that decision, it is Sachin himself, and knowing him, he will not delay the decision if and when its due. He knows what best he can do with his present abilities and he will always put the team’s needs in front of his own. You will never reach a situation when somebody has to start giving him hints or have a private “chat” with him. You will never find him arguing with the captain or the coach or crying foul to the board president or press. He would’nt do any of these, simply because he knows, more than any one of us do, that all this is simply “Not Quite Cricket”, and that is why he is not just a great player, he one of the greatest cricketers ever. And that is the reason why you and I should leave him alone. Remember the times when the line up faltered badly and Sachin walked in. We did not give up our hopes then since we trusted his commitment and ability, reassuring ourselves, “Sachin’s around, he will definitely try to do something”. I think we need to repose the same trust and faith in him, believing that, if he chooses to be around, he will do something. Till then, stop comparing him to all and sundry and leave him alone.
Like I said before, I am not a fanatical Sachin fan like my uncle, who believes that Sachin gets out only because some one walked in front of the sightscreen right at the moment and he is the sorts that would have to be restrained from cutting off people’s head should they ever attempt to criticize Sachin or question his commitment. But a fan of his I will always remain. I will always hope and pray that he fires, for the sheer joy of watching his blade flow. I will always believe for as long as he plays the game that he can turn a match around single-handedly, whether by paddling a Venom-spitting Warne turner against the spin to the fence or by bowling Inzy round his legs with a vicious leg break. For it is this very hope that has brought a smile to me a million times, every time I sought to escape the rigours of an otherwise hopeless day. His presence for as long as he chooses, will always be a boon to the game, just for the sheer brilliance of his cricketing brain. There is no end to the accolades that one can shower on his contributions, but the most unforgettable of them all came from my late grandmother. A strong character herself with a penchant to keep in touch with changing trends, she wasn’t the one to miss out family unions in front of the television, specially for a cricket match. While my acerbic uncle was vociferously ensuring that nobody moved places or switched positions while watching Sachin massacre a hapless Aussie attack on that famous night in Sharjah, she quietly turned to me and said, “I think that despite all the evils that happen around us today, there is some truth to the fact that all our ancestors have earned some good Karma, for India would not have been fortunate enough to have been blessed with someone like Sachin”. To me, that sums it all up. We are really blessed to have been part of a time when we could witness someone like Sachin at full flow, and we are fully justified in flattering ourselves into believing that as long as he chooses to be around on the cricket field, there is a miracle round the corner, waiting to happen.
posted by Jaiku at 6:29 pm
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