TONdulkar - The 50 Maar Khan!

One of the most difficult thing in present day cricketing context is certainly to write something about Sachin Tendulkar. Millions of articles, billions of comparisons and zillions of accolades have been showered on him for his innumerable feats and still the critics and fans all around find themselves at shortage of words but the superman is still going strong, with don't know how many such wonderful and proud moments still to come out of his quiver. From the youngest cricketer to achieve so many feats, to be the first batsman to clock 12, 15 and 17 thousand ODIS runs respectively, from being the only man to have scored 200 runs in an ODI innings to hit the maximum number of runs and centuries in both forms of the game and now the mere impossible, the first man on earth to have reached the unthinkable feat of 50 Test Tons. And it won't take him long to bag 100 international tons (ODIs plus Tests) either. Naturally he has made life tough not only for the bowlers across the globe but also for the writers and columnists. Nothing written about Sachin from now on will be new, yet a million words will be penned for every run that he scores.

No wonder almost every run he scores literally breaks one record or the other. And the newspapers next day are flooded with statistical vendettas and towering statements about the great man. And the same happened when he scored his 50th, all the news channels had only one thing to show, Sachin! All the radio stations had only one thing to air, Sachin! The last five pages of Times Of India next day had stories on only one man, Sachin! All the food joints, office cafeterias, pan shops and even the restaurants were buzzing with just one topic, Sachin! And a bitter irony amongst all these celebrations and coronations was that, not only the whole of India but even the entire world forgot a very important fact that India has faced one of their biggest defeats in a Test Match in recent times. But who cares as long as their favorite star is entertaining them in such an incredible fashion!

This man has been playing international cricket for more years of his life (21) than he hasn’t (16). And certain facts about his longevity are so staggering that it seems that the entire world has transformed in these 21 years, but for his zest for excellence. When he started to play international cricket, Steffi Graf was Wimbledon champion, Diego Maradona was captain of Argentina, and Allan Border led Australia. Think of where they are today, how physically fit they are and what they do now. Mind boggling, isn't it? Also, when he started, the Berlin Wall and the Babri Masjid were still intact; India had no mobile phones;and Nirvana was two years away from recording Smells Like Teen Spirit. As the world around him has changed beyond recognition, Tendulkar – peerless, generation-straddling poster boy of his sport – continues to dominate India’s collective consciousness more than anyone else has in the past two decades.

Naturally with this amazing feat happening the age old comparisons with Don Bradman were bound to resurface. But this time around not only the Indians declared the burly mumbaikar as their first choice but even the Australian fans joined the global bandwagon in felicitating the 37 year old sensation as the best ever. Though I believe it's not the best thing to compare the legends across eras, as the cricketing conditions were different 50 years back, amount of cricket played today is far more enormous than it was say 30-40 years back, state of pitches have changed considerably, protective gears and technology has come to batsmen's aid in today's game and the amount of travelling has risen considerably too. So it is in the best interest of the game to savior and enjoy the best of each of these geniuses rather than getting involved in a slug fest of comparisons. But with the little master continuing with his path breaking batting streak, fans, critics and writers are bound to resort to new ways of praising him, naturally the tool of comparison. And it was hardly any surprise when I came across an article in Times of India few days back which toyed with the idea of comparing Sachin with the all time greats of various other sports and in turn corona-ting him with the throne of Best Sportsman in the World! Heartwarming indeed, but I don't think it's required at all because even if the little genius fails to perform the way he has over the years, he will still remain to be the king of our hearts and most deserved owner of the Bharat Ratna title.

What makes this guy special are not his towering records and statistics but the way he has played the game for over two decades. What separates him from his peers is not his impeccable technique and temperament but his infectious enthusiasm for the game. What eventually transcends him from a good player to a great player are not his multi million dollar endorsements but his humility and off field conduct. Whatever he does, however much, we still want more from Tendulkar. He has borne the burden of our hope so well for 21 years; it could well be the heaviest burden borne by a batsman in cricketing history. In today's India when corruption and dishonesty has spread its wings from politics, media, healthcare and even in the prestigious cauldrons of defense and services, he is probably the lone man standing on the pillars of honesty and integrity and performing his duties for the nation with full honesty and consequently bringing smiles to the faces of million Indians. So the least we can do for this messiah, in the last leg of his career is to slightly unburden him for our never ending expectations, savor every moment till they last and let him enjoy the game a bit more than he usually does.

Bracketing Sir Don & Sachin: Much like the Bradman's stupendous average of 99.94 has always remained a thing of talks and a largely unchallenged number,Sachin's eventual tally of century of Centuries will also remain one such feat which will remain unchallenged and unbeaten for a long long time.

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