Who will be most affected by Tendulkar's retirement?

Sachin Tendulkar – The only one

So it’s been 24 hours since Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from the game and also clearly stated that he would finish off on his 200th Test match for India against West Indies either at the Eden Gardens or at Wankhede in Mumbai.

I look around on social networking sites and the hullabaloo in and around the cricketing fraternity, and my observation is that people are ambivalent about the timing of his announcement. While some people are questioning the timing of his announcement, there is also a major portion of cricket followers who I am sure are thinking of ways they can motivate themselves towards watching cricket after Tendulkar’s days are over. Such has been the man’s legacy and the immortality he has brought to the game right throughout his career, which would have lasted close to 24 years come November.

Here are the things that will be most affected by Tendulkar’s retirement:

Headline writers

A headline writer’s job for the past 24 years has been pretty simple in terms of attracting readers, thanks to the numerous records and personification of greatness that Tendulkar has been.

In my 12 years of following Indian cricket closely, I’ve always felt that every newspaper has a column specially devoted to ‘The God’, as Tendulkar has been portrayed throughout the nation during these 24 years. Every tiny commodity related to Tendulkar was invariably talked about and published in the newspapers as well.

Now that Tendulkar has finally announced his retirement, columnists and editors will have to look elsewhere to make up headlines. So from the way I look at it, headline writers will be the people most affected on account of Sachin Tendulkar‘s retirement. Mind you, there are still a couple more Test matches to go. Look out for the headlines on the morning of the first Test match against West Indies.

The cricket followers to whom Tendulkar was like a son

Every time Tendulkar took to a cricket pitch, it was as though every cricket follower looked at him and felt that ‘He’ was their belonging. Such was their adulation and joy in watching Sachin Tendulkar on a cricket pitch. And, as has been the case in the last couple of years owing to the constantly looming speculation over Tendulkar’s retirement, the reception every time he walks out to bat has been that much bigger.

So as far his followers and worshippers go, it’s going to be a massive transition towards watching and supporting an Indian team which will no longer feature Tendulkar after his 200th Test match.

Unparalleled joy in watching Sachin Tendulkar make runs

Yes, this is yet another factor that cannot be brushed aside. Whenever an Indian cricket follower supported and watched the Indian cricket team in action, two things would make him/her glued to his or her TV set – one was the Indian cricket team, and the other was SACHIN TENDULKAR.

Sachin Tendulkar is so special that there is a unique flow of joy and happiness every time he makes runs. Of course, when Tendulkar makes runs and India loses, it’s a bitter pill to swallow but then, the joy of watching Tendulkar score runs is not comparable to any great batsman around the world. He has been India’s talisman for close to 24 years now and it could well turn out to be the only time when a cricketer gets such a reception for his prowess.

People turning into cricket followers because of Sachin Tendulkar

This is something unprecedented as well. Yes, you can very well claim that nothing is bigger than the game itself. But what about the game’s followers who started watching cricket just because of Tendulkar?

That’s where I fear for the International Cricket Council(ICC) and their constant efforts to take the game forward. Because when you look at Australia and their premier sport, Australian rules football is leaps and bounds ahead of cricket and hence, a great player like Ponting or a certain Allan Border might not get the same attention as Tendulkar would in a country like India, which has been a great ambassador for promoting the game as far as ICC goes.

The name ‘SACHIN TENDULKAR’ has been infectious and I wonder whether tomorrow we will see someone who is better than Tendulkar in everything that ‘The God’ has achieved and benchmarked.