Growing up with Sachin Tendulkar - How my childhood ended with his retirement
“I will be like Sachin Tendulkar.”
20 years later, I couldn’t even be a 1000th of the batsman that he was, but that was what I said when my father gifted me my first ever bat. I was only 3 or maybe 4 years old, but it is a memory I can never forget.
My love for cricket emanated at a very young age. I can’t remember many of Tendulkar’s best innings in the 90s, for I was still in my nappies, but one thing that will never leave the walls of my mind was how he influenced me. I tried to replicate the way he stood on the crease; perfectly balanced and ready to pounce on the ball.
I was 4.
I remember arguing with my friend about who is a bigger Tendulkar fan. We always urged each other to become a fan of Azharuddin instead of Tendulkar because the former had “four cars”. In the midst of such astounding naivety stood sheer love and passion for the man who many recognize as God.
My memory of the 1996 World Cup is shrouded by a thick drapery of a nebulous mist, but through that, Tendulkar’s innings of 90 against Australia in a losing cause appears in flashes – especially the three boundaries that he struck against Glenn McGrath in a single over. In my mind, it was the onset of the McGrath-Tendulkar rivalry.
I was 6.
Life was still jolly. The biggest thing I worried about that time was missing a Tendulkar innings, a position that I so crave now amidst all the scarring thoughts about the future. And after the World Cup came the best years for the Little Master – and his status as a Lord was engraved in my heart.
As Australia toured India in early 1998, Tendulkar was at the peak of his powers – and so was Shane Warne. The battle between them was so hyped that I clearly remember my father leaving all his work to sit in front of the television to view the spectacle.
And he was delighted; my word he was. When Tendulkar ripped Warne to shreds, the glee on the faces of both me and my old man illuminated the whole house. Almost every ball he danced down the wicket and gave us the terror of getting stumped, but his masterful stroke-play and timing showered utter joy instead.
This was also the series which generated an interest in bowling within me. Once again, Tendulkar was the cause – the doer. As Australia at 203-3 looked all set to chase down India’s target of 311, he came in to bowl and took 5 wickets in his 10 overs, giving away just 32 runs. After that, I started gripping the ball.
Sharjah was just a 90-minute drive from where I lived back then, Fujairah. And Tendulkar was there, the closest he was to me in that timeline. I wanted my father to take me to the venue, but his busy schedule meant that it wasn’t possible.
In that triangular series against New Zealand and Australia, Tendulkar was at his finest – he had an answer for every ball, and totally desecrated the New Zealand and Australia bowlers as if they were schoolboys.
He wasn’t actually hitting the ball, he was waving the bat like a magic wand and caressing the ball, making it do as he pleased.
I was 10.
Slowly and steadily, I was being made aware of the darker aspects of the world. At first, I refused to believe it. But, as it happens with everyone, a slow and pale acceptance of things for the way they are started to creep up on me.
However, in the midst of all that, Tendulkar shone like the Sun. 2003 was the first World Cup that I properly remember. And Tendulkar was at his brilliant best once again.
“How many runs did Sachin make,” I asked my father while he picked me up from my coaching center. “98,” he replied before adding, “then a Shoaib Akhtar ball hit his chest and then his gloves and went straight to the fielder.”
I was devastated. He had missed an epic century just by two runs. Nonetheless, his innings helped India preserve their unbeaten record against Pakistan at World Cups. While watching the highlights, my eyes almost popped out and fell on the floor when they witnessed *that* six on the off-side against Akhtar.
At school, I bet 3 dirhams with my friend on India winning the tournament, but the moment Sourav Ganguly said, “we would like to bowl first,” I knew that I had lost the money. The rest, as they say, was history. Till date, this remains the best display of batting I have seen from Tendulkar’s bat in a tournament, despite just falling short.
The Mumbai man then went on to a barren spell in Tests. Life didn’t make much sense to me at that point. Every time he came to bat, I ran in front of the TV, only to face the unparalleled disappointment of seeing him get out in the space of a few minutes.