Friday 15 November 2013

Sir Sachin Tendulkar - the Star!

I am not a fan of cricket. My story is similar to a few people who lost interest in the sport when match-fixing came out in the open. To correct myself, I am an ex-fan. There was the 'felt-betrayed' phase followed by the depression and ultimately the 'i-don't-care' phase towards cricket.

After these underhand dealings surfaced, I hardly followed the game. I was content with the updates when milestones were recorded in the cricket and around these events, I would be drawn to the sport like a moth to flame. There are the star-players, who I enjoyed watching in action - MS Dhoni, Yuvraj, Dravid, Bhajji, Gayle (after the famous 'gayle-ic storm'). But it was transient. Sachin, undoubtedly, was the highlight for me. If it is an interesting match and has the devouts on the edge of their seats, but doesn't have Sachin on the screen, I just shrug and turn around. Secretly I would chase Sachin's records, and the relevant cricket info to stay abreast of the happenings. More so because the people around me spoke cricket!

In retrospective, I feel, the reason I retained the little interest in cricket was because of sportsmen like Sachin, Dravid, and Kumble, in that order. When Anil Kumble retired from active cricket, I was surprised. Having grown up watching him play, the thought that he would have to do something as absurd as "retire", had never even crossed my mind. Cricket meant these players, period. After this was Dravid's turn. When Dravid left the field for a different role in the game, I knew we were growing up. Now, here is the God, announcing his cross-over from active play to a "being-around" role. Yes, yes.. Sachin is not going to fade out into something as trivial as "being-around", but for me at this point it is as overwhelming.

Sachin, for a far-off fan of cricket such as I, you are cricket to me and you are the reason I respect the sport and follow it. I do not know if it would be the same henceforth. Love and respect, Sir Sachin!