Remember the Titans #1 : Sachin Tendulkar

This article is a part of the Remember the Titans series. To know about the series, go through the introductory post by clicking here.

If ever I will be writing an article, which I am confident is the common voice of millions other than me and not just my ramblings on random issues - it is this. I have heard and read that certain poisons and psychological disorders induce a person to fabricate new words of his own - a queer form of neologism. I wish I could do it right now for the very thought of describing the feats of the individual who becomes the first 'titan' of this series is scary. Words would fail me and memories would betray me because the sheer mass of contribution this little man from Mumbai has made for his country and his sport is still being measured by people with the largest scales they can hold in their hands.

One of the reasons I can never thank God enough is that He put me in an era that concurs with the greatest part of Tendulkar's achievements. The genius of Tendulkar would lord over three generations. Mine, the one above me and the one that's coming after me. Tendulkar has done enough to achieve the zenith of greatness by his cricketing abilities alone. But, that is only the most conspicuous and probably the least important reason why people adore him to an extent that it borders to worship. Tendulkar as a person is much, much more. He is the greatest icon ever of hope - a simple non-extinguishable flame that has kept a million lanterns lit and brightened up the lives of billions who live by their light. No individual, both in this country and in the world of cricket, has had to handle as much as this little man had to. What should he listen to when he steps onto the ground every single time - his own heart thumping wildly, the glass-shattering roar of the stadium crowd or the hopeful prayers that people all over the country mutter as the stocky man carrying one of the heaviest bats looks skyward before taking guard? Eventually, he trained his ears to listen to each of those and yet establish within his mind the kind of silence and concentration that sages used to attempt sitting in deep caves of old mountains. And then as they say - let his bat do the talking.

The personality of Sachin Tendulkar is one that should be taught in classrooms as a lesson of self-management. So many times has he been given out wrongly, at times by visibly atrocious decisions. So many times have his centuries gone in vain as the rest of the team failed to rally around him. So many times he has come agonizingly close to triple figures and then fallen prey to an ordinary ball. So many times has he had to endure the criticisms that pour in after a short spate of low scores. Lesser mortals would have succumbed to even half the magnitude of this tumultuous assault. Tendulkar, miraculously is still standing as the face of Indian cricket after 21 long years. So many paeans have been sung about his strokeplay, his aggression, his technical soundness...even his wily spin - but very few people have acknowledged the most wondrous of Tendulkar's many achievements - his longevity. He has himself said several times recently, as have many others, that his body is not what it used to be. But, Tendulkar is such an intelligent cricketer that with gradual modification he has achieved an equilibrium between what he demands from his body and what it permits him to do. His game now is one that requires less agility and less power, but it draws heavily from his skill and experience. The most recent of his magnificent knocks - 175 against Australia and 200* against South Africa - facing some the world's most fierce bowlers saw an exhibition of the widest range of shots any single innings could ever have featured. Inspite of being under the media spotlight incessantly for so many years, Tendulkar still remains one of the most humble and well-mannered cricketers you could ever come across. With the achievements under his belt and the huge talents at this disposal, he has every right to show what people usually term 'attitude'. And yet, the chemistry he shares with the current captain and the new crop of players retains the same excitement and mutual, healthy respect that he shared with the likes of Azharuddin and Kapil Dev. More than learning how to play cricket one can learn from him how to handle cricket once you have mastered the art of playing it. Long shadows though his stature casts on the national front, Tendulkar has always made sure that the game and the team is valued more than him. Just sample this statement he made at the presentation ceremony after his record 200* knock - ''I dedicate this knock to all the people of India, who have supported me throughout over the last 20 years. I was timing the ball well, and I felt that anywhere between 340 to 350 was a good target. I thought Karthik, Yusuf and Dhoni supported me well. I thought that a 200 would be possible once I crossed 175 in the 42nd over. I am enjoying my cricket at the moment. There have been a few bad decisions I have made as a batsman, but as long as the passion is there I will carry on. It feels good that I lasted the 50 overs, it was a good test of my fitness and I would like to do this once again.''

Tendulkar has quite candidly said that he is uncomfortable with the comparisions made between him and the legends of yesteryears like the great Donald Bradman, Sunny Gavaskar and Vivian Richards. But, his lakhs of fans and followers are hell-bent on proving that he is THE best. While nothing can be said with certainty on the topic, no one can ever argue that Tendulkar has written his name across literally every record when it comes to batting. In the national team as a 16-year old and put up on debut against a hostile Pakistani bowling attack, the unique blend of resilience and aggression that Tendulkar showed back then had already laid down his credentials as a batting prodigy. He has never been chucked out of the team ever since - perhaps the only player who has had that fortune. The last decade of the last century belonged completely to Sachin Tendulkar. Bowlers trembled at his name and he won every duel that he was forced to participate him. What other player could give nightmares to Shane Warne and occasionally make the swing of Akram and the pace of Allan Donald look pedestrian? Gradually, the team began to rely heavily on him - more than it should have. A blitzkrieg was expected from him every time he stepped onto the crease. The opposition spent nights mulling over strategies to unsettle him and find any flaws in his near-perfect batting. But, Tendulkar was not one who could be beaten by technology or strategy. To beat him you had to be the near-perfect bowler bowling the near-perfect ball. After a bout of successive injuries, many wrote off Tendulkar as a spent force. Not those who knew him closely. And true to his nature, Tendulkar bounced back, better than ever - and nearly won India the 2003 World Cup. And seven years after that, he still mesmerizes the scorers and the spectators alike. Tendulkar has achieved a level where the only person he can compete with is himself. And that is what makes him the most-loved and the most-respected cricketer in the world today.

A day will come...and its not very far too...when Sachin Tendulkar will bid adieu to cricket. I can't still imagine cricket without Sachin Tendulkar. For many, he remains the only reason to watch cricket. Oh, lets not say it will be a dark day for cricket. New players have taken the game to new levels. We must not be unjust to the talents that cricketers like Dhoni and Michael Clarke possess. The show will go on - Sachin's records, however monumental they may seem now, will eventually be broken at some point in time - many many years later maybe. But, will a cricketer emerge who will be the object of such affection, such devotion and such attention as this man? Will we ever get to see so many breaths held to watch the swerve of a single bat? Will a cricketer indeed reach a position when people will start questioning whether he is a human at all? Even Sachin, modest as he is ever, will find these questions hard to evade...