8 reasons why Sachin Tendulkar will be missed at the 2015 World Cup

Sachin Tendulkar with the much-coveted World Cup trophyWhen Sachin Tendulkar played his first ICC Cricket World Cup in 1992, Narendra Modi was an RSS pracharak and a newbie in the BJP, the internet had just been invented, the price of gold in India was Rs 4100, and Arvind Kejriwal was working in Tata Steel as an aam aadmi.Just before that World Cup in 1992, he had played the innings of his lifetime and probably the one of the best ever by any international player against a petrifying Australian bowling attack, scoring 114 runs in Perth, aged just 18.He was the nucleus of the Indian Squad in ‘92, ‘96, ‘99, ‘03 and ‘07 before finally winning the elusive trophy in 2011. For us, he was a lord among peasants and played like God among mortals. He played to the audience, sometimes with Zen-like focus and sometimes with just pure genius.But this coming World Cup, he, unfortunately, won’t be there in the middle.Here are 8 reasons why we will miss Tendulkar at the World Cup:  

#1 Encounters against Pakistan wont have the same feel without him

Remember the 2003 world cup India-Pak encounter? Remember how Sachin slaughtered the Pakistani bowlers? Didn’t it give you eternal happiness that Sachin with tricolor plastered on his helmet and on top of his form was toying with the Pakistan bowling attack and for all we know everyone in the nation slept sound that night.

His average against Pakistan in the world cup was a smooth 62 and he tormented those world class breed of bowlers on more occasions than one.  

Also, his 141 in 135 balls against Pakistan in Rawalpindi while chasing a target of 330 in 2004 was a marathon innings and the fall of his wicket in the 39th over of the match was one of the reasons India lost the plot. It is still one of the most underrated centuries of all times and will always remind us of his genius stroke play.