Ten(Dulkar) things I want before retirement
It was the summer of 2003 and my cousin was visiting me. Following the regular tourism trend, we went on the “Mumbai Darshan”.
Travelling from the South to the North, we stopped at Shivaji Park for a brief time. The only introduction, I could give about the place was – “It was this place, where Sachin Tendulkar practiced in his childhood days.”
My cousin did grab a vadapav and sat on a bench to feel the ambience. Die-hard fans, aren’t we?
Fast-forwarding to 2013.
10/10/2013, on hearing about Sachin’s retirement, I went to Shivaji Park, this time again to sit on a bench and to let the feeling sink in. It did not, and probably will not for decades to come.
Gurudev Nayak, a Marathi, aged around 82 was sitting reading the “Loksatta” (Loksatta is a famous regional newspaper of Maharashtra, India). A small kid in the nets, just stepped out and smashed the ball on the top of the bowlers’ head and it came near the bench. Gurudev rushed to return the ball. As the puff of the dust settled, he started talking about Tendulkar and his retirement from international cricket. He said he has sat on the same bench of Shivaji Park (SP) for past 30 years of his life and has seen Sachin Tendulkar grow as a player. Every evening, Gurudev used to come to SP just to see a thin, curly haired boy bat and sometimes used to get his office colleagues to enjoy his evenings, watching Tendulkar bat.
Talking to him, I said, “It is done now, I will miss Tendulkar like anything.”
To which Gurudev showed the “victory sign” and retorted, “Ajun, 2 match rahilet. Bagh kasa khelnaare to (There are still two matches to go, see how he is going to thrash everyone). I was amazed at the reply and we started talking about what we want from Tendulkar in these 2 matches. We were really, the most selfish people on the earth, just like other 2 billion Indians, still demanding something from someone who has contributed everything for past 24 years.
Continuing the evening over the tea-stall and vada-pav, Gurudev and I came up with 10 things that we would love and cherish to see from Tendulkar in his last two test-matches.
#1: Talking to the grounds men.
This was really the first thought that came to Gurudev’s mind. He had seen Tendulkar grow and had seen him help the “mali” (the ground keeper) to put up the nets and take it out. The passion to play the game comes way later than the humbleness to begin it. For Tendulkar, the groundsmen were a family. And it was then, that many pictures of Tendulkar talking to the groundsmen flashed in front of my eyes. However, big or small the game was, Tendulkar always made it a point to talk to grounds men, a way of showing gratitude and respect to the hard work they have put in to keep things moving. Yes, I would love to see Tendulkar standing near the pitch at 08:45 in the morning and talking to the grounds men, with that smile on the face.
#2: Walking out from the dressing room.
This is obviously going to happen, but it is really something I want to see in Tendulkar’s last two test-matches. I can pay anything to get a very close view of Tendulkar walking out of the pavilion and towards the ground. 11:00 AM in the morning and Tendulkar walks out to bat at the fall of second wicket. Indian national flag on the helmet, bat tucked under the arm and the determination in the walk. And one lakh people at Eden Gardens chanting “Sachin!! Sachin!!”; one can only close the eyes and imagine the roar, not only in the stadium but around the world. This is the moment, I will cherish and will give me the goose-bumps of my life.
#3: 50 (60)
Someone playing 199th and 200th Test match and especially knowing it to be his last series, can get a little shaky and throw it away. Bradman did.
All I want to see from Tendulkar, is not a big big hundred, but a quick 60 ball 50, studded with fours, quick singles, strong defence and a couple of hits over the top of the bowler’s head. That is the Tendulkar we have known since the innings in Perth in 1992. Till date, it is one of the finest performances I have seen from him, given the attack and the conditions. It will be a treat to watch Tendulkar in that mode of taking the attack to the bowler and playing with a free-flow of the bat.
#4: Vintage straight drive
People like Sanjay Manjrekar have grown around Tendulkar. He said, the way he knows Tendulkar is on the top of his game, is when he plays the straight drives very early in the innings. I presume, with the height Tendulkar has, playing that shot means, he is watching the ball right from the moment it leaves the bowlers hand to its finest of movements in the air. And that moment, when the face of the bat comes down and creates the sound of chik, the vintage straight drives are produced. I would love to see one of these straight drives, whenever they come. It is something I can record and put in the inventory of things I would love to watch daily till I die.