Sachin Tendulkar: A True Cricketer

The minute one thinks of cricket, one thinks of Tendulkar. It isn’t necessary for someone to be a cricket fan to be a Tendulkar fan. Such is this man’s greatness. He is unparalleled in his skill and humane nature.

Sachin came from a family of professionals, where learning was respected and sport was a hobby, but Sachin was so in love with the game, he spent most of his time on the field and the time he was off it, waiting to get back on it. His father was supportive and when he realised his son’s total adoration for the game, he said to Sachin, “There are thousands of good lawyers and only a few truly gifted batsmen”.

Sachin started cricket at a very early age. He would join hundreds of boys for coaching at Shivaji Park, along with many players who went on to become famous – Sanjay Manjrekar, Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar and Vinod Kambli. According to his coaches in those days, Sachin would turn up early in the morning, complaining that the attendants were refusing to put up the nets till six. He would also go wake up his coaches at five thirty, saying that he wasn’t happy with his batting.

Sachin began playing professional cricket at the ripe age of eighteen. He has had quite a few good innings. The centuries in Australia in 1992 and the massacring of Pakistani bowlers – most notably in the 2003 World Cup – are some visuals that are permanently embedded in our memories.

1st March 2003, World Cup: Pakistan vs India. You win, you go to the next round. It was very simple. Sachin was opening. He sent the third ball he faced for a four and after that, many more over the bowlers head, and to the boundary. Shoaib Akhtar was far from amused.

This wasn’t just a match, it was chaos. The batsmen were desperate to get boundaries, the bowlers were throwing balls furiously in an attempt to get Sachin out and the fielders were scrambling about wildly trying to prevent the ball from reaching the ropes. It was not until after drinks that Sachin fell, to a very relieved Akhtar. But by then, it was too late for Pakistan.

It was an unforgettable innings.

Since then, has scored a century of international centuries. and made many a crowd go ballistic when he played the straight drive; who would have thought the curly-haired young boy from Shivaji Park would one day make the world rise every time he walked onto a field?