Sachin Tendulkar - We're not done with him, yet!

Sachin Tendulkar

Seriously, I didn’t want to write this. It’s too emotional a subject and as a professional, you don’t write on things that emotionally charge you because emotions cloud your judgement, and errors in judgement often lead to biased pieces. But most importantly, whatever I write doesn’t matter any more.

Then there are things that you can’t avoid. It’s been a couple of days since Sachin Tendulkar bowed out from the world of cricket, and yet, those last moments of him taking the lone walk towards the 22 yards at Wankhede are still simmering in my thoughts and brewing up random emotional aftershocks.

Overreaction? Maybe! What else do you expect from a true Bollywood-bred Indian?

I was prepared for the day. I planned it – take a leave, hope for a Sachin epic, watch India thrash West Indies, listen to Ravi Shastri’s clichés and then write a glowing tribute. Things were on schedule – the leave, the match, the innings, the thrashing, Shastri doing better than expected. Even the tribute glorifying the aura and impact of Sachin Tendulkar was on its way.

Then it happened.

Sachin Tendulkar spoke. He poured his heart out and weaved his emotions into the simplest of words, conveying his gratitude and what the game meant to him.

It went all downhill from there.  The Facebook updates flooded my timeline and tweets poured in at a pace beating Jupiter’s escape velocity. And then it all started to sink in.

Sachin Tendulkar will never play for India again. For the past few months, quite a few of us wanted him to go but did they really mean it?

Doesn’t matter, he’s gone. There’s no buzz any more, no sound of the bat hitting the ball, no appeals, no gasps and moreover, the chant of “Sachiiiiiiinnnn….Sachin” has faded away. Suddenly the mania and the frenzy have been replaced with a reservoir of silence and an eerie feeling that keeps growing on you.

The Facebook updates are still pouring in but their nature has changed. The entire morning was devoted to praise and adulation but come evening, the claws were out and the bashing was back – this time for making it to the highest civilian award of the country.

We are a strange country. We lead people down blind alleys. First, we crave for success and hope for heroics. Then, we criticize success and scorn the successful. That’s India for you – a country that loves, worships and criticises Sachin Tendulkar. It’s a complicated relationship and to understand it, we need to understand Sachin Tendulkar and what he meant for this country.

Sachin Tendulkar was the biggest unifying force that this country has experienced for the last 24 years.

Now this is a unique country that boasts of different regions, religions and cultures and it is those same things that tear the county apart. We neither agree on anything nor do we believe in the same philosophies. The only thing that brings this country together is the game of cricket, and the glue that bound this sport to the nation was Sachin Tendulkar.

But why, even after 24 years, is he still a phenomenon? Why did him retiring send chills down our spines as if something was going terribly wrong? Why is he so important to us?

Back in the days, there were limited career options for Indian kids and if you belonged to a middle class background, they slimmed down even more – either a doctor or an engineer. India was a closed economy and sport as a career was only a fancy of the rich and the famous. Then came a boy of 16 and added a third option, and Indian parents suddenly warmed up to the idea of “Bada hoke Sachin banega!”

Tendulkar’s meteoric rise coincided with the opening up of the Indian economy and when the foreign investors flocked in, they found him – a talent that was worth putting your top dollar on. He became India’s first modern sports star who had a unique combination of the skill and aura of Muhammad Ali and the marketability and the acceptance of Michael Jordan. Every billboard had his face and every kid wanted “Boost” to be the secret of their energy.

All of us want to do remarkable things, and lead extraordinary lives. None of us want to spend a life that’s wasted in dull and useless pursuit of meaningless existence. Tendulkar, for the first time, showed that if one had a dream and the courage and the passion to follow it, it could be achieved. He showed how to step outside our comfort zones and run after a dream that could change your life.

He became the agent of change and reminded the ones growing up - “You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your f****** khakis.”

He chased excellence because the cost of mediocrity was disappointment. But the price of excellence was discipline. So he ran, he ran until his muscles burned and his veins pumped battery acid. Then he ran some more and kept running for 24 years.

However, inspiration isn’t enough; you’ve got to back it up with results. Especially in a success hungry nation like ours, everything is about numbers. Right from our childhood, we are only as good as our numbers speak. When you’re small, your report card speaks for you, when you grow up, the salary slip takes over. Tendulkar too piled on those numbers and after 24 years, boy, they look astronomical.

Sachin Tendulkar – The pic sums up the emotions of the country

But all that is over now. To be frank, the Indian cricket team doesn’t really need him any more.

When he came onto the scene, we were a nation inflicted with an inferiority complex. The stronger nations bullied us and we replied with a smile because we weren’t strong enough to retaliate. Sachin Tendulkar was the first one who landed a counter punch. That startled the opposition and then before they could react, Sachin Tendulkar landed a few body blows.

Suddenly, the world sat up and before they knew, Tendulkar had a stronger unit around him. Along with his might, India was strengthened by the bravery of Ganguly, the solidity of Dravid, the consistency of Laxman and the roughness of Sehwag. India weren’t counter punching any more; they were landing knock out blows.

For Tendulkar, this was the right time to stop. Yes, he didn’t do the honourable thing like Dravid and Ganguly because unlike them, Tendulkar had a bigger role to play. He had to stay on not only to pass the baton on, but to make sure that they were strong enough to take the legacy forward.

Now, India is a heavyweight. The Dhonis, the Kohlis and the Dhawans are the big bullies – they dominate, they win and they scare the opposition.

On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero - and after 24 years of being the bridge between dreams and reality, he must be worn out, both mentally and physically. He needed a break – a break where he could get two months off with nothing to do – no runs to score, no collapses to repair and no billions to represent.

But after that he needs to be around because he is still a necessity to the psyche of this mercurial nation. He needs to be around to keep them together and to remind them that “All is well”.

He may be done with playing cricket but we aren’t done with him, yet, because Sachin Tendulkar is the Tyler Durden that India will always need.