Sachin Tendulkar: The cricket legend

[yogi]

This week marks Sachin's 20 years in Indian cricket. Let this thread be a tribute to this sporting genius.

[yogi]

A fantastic tribute to the greatest sportsman of our times.

Not a run machine (Hindustan Times, Rajdeep Sardesai)

Where were you on November 15, 1989? I know where I was: glued to the TV watching a 16-year-old boy with curls and rosy cheeks take on Pakistan’s fast bowlers. Twenty years later, the locks are showing a hint of grey but Sachin Tendulkar is still doing what he does best: score runs for India. Much has changed in the world around us in the last 20 years. One thing hasn’t: the presence of Tendulkar on the cricket crease.

Remember 1989? It was the year that the Berlin Wall fell, Rajiv Gandhi lost the general elections and V.P. Singh was transformed into a middle-class hero. It was the year that the militant’s gun first echoed in the Kashmir Valley while the bugle of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was sounded in Ayodhya. In 1989, $500 was your forex limit, Manmohan Singh was far from being the finance minister, there were no private TV news channels and India was still struggling with the Hindu rate of growth. To many Indians of my generation, there is only one link between then and now: the batsmanship of Tendulkar. Forget the runs and the records. That is for historians and statisticians. For the genuine cricket fan, Tendulkar has always been much more than a run machine: he has played the game the way it was meant to be played — with passion, unbridled enthusiasm and, above all, dignity. It’s true that the gay abandon with which he lit into Abdul Qadir on his first tour to Pakistan has given way to a more methodical approach to batting. Yet, as he showed in Hyderabad, the core of his being is still in playing attacking cricket. Incredibly, even towards the end of his epic, he was running faster than his partners who were almost half his age.

It can’t have been easy. Cricket’s history is littered with stories of prodigies who never quite made the transition to the big league. Not only did Tendulkar make the great leap, but he did it in the span of less than two years. Lesser men would have simply buckled under when hit on the face as he was in the first series by a Waqar bouncer. But he didn’t. In that one fleeting moment, when he dusted himself up, a teenager became a man. We all have our favourite Tendulkar moment: was it the sliced cut off Shoaib Akhtar for a six in the 2003 world cup? Maybe, it was the emotional century within a week of his father’s death? Or was it his demolition of Shane Warne in Chennai? Or the Sharjah innings that remains his signature one-day knock? Or the double century in Sydney? Or the match-winning innings last year against England within weeks of the 26/11 terror? When you’ve scored a staggering 87 international centuries, then picking a single cricketing achievement isn’t easy.

But his real achievement is beyond the boundary. We live in an age of instant stardom and mini-celebrities, where fame is an intoxicant that can easily consume the best of us. Sachin, remarkably, has been almost untouched by the fact that he is contemporary India’s biggest icon, arguably bigger than even an Amitabh Bachchan or a Shah Rukh Khan. As Khan revealed in an interview, at a party there was a big noise when Big B entered. Then, Sachin entered the hall and Bachchan was leading the queue to grab hold of the cricket champion! Through the many highs and a few lows, Tendulkar’s balance has never wavered both on and off the field, driven by a single-minded devotion to the game. He has avoided controversy, remaining a private individual. He may not have gone to college, but life has perhaps taught him more than he could have ever learnt there. He is aware of his commercial value but his badge of identity is that he is the Maharashtrian middle-class boy who has remained true to his roots. He may lack the gravitas of Sunil Gavaskar, but on cricketing matters he can be just as articulate. In a sense, the passing of the baton from Gavaskar to Tendulkar represents the coming of age of Indian cricket and a new India. Gavaskar was the architect, who built every innings with a clinical precision, that perhaps was symbolic of a Nehruvian India when neither Indian cricket nor the country could afford any form of extravagance. Tendulkar is the free-spirited artist who bats with the freedom of an India unshackled of its socialist baggage, where cricket is now part of a lucrative entertainment industry.

So, how much longer will Tendulkar continue? Sir Don Bradman, statistically the greatest-ever batsman, played for Australia for 20 years, interrupted by war and benefiting from the fact that cricket was then a seasonal sport. Sachin, whom the great Don likened to himself, has been playing virtually non-stop for two decades in the most high-pressure environment that modern sport can throw up. Maybe, the body is creaking a little, but the mind doesn’t seem to have given up yet. Maybe, the goal of the 2011 World Cup is still the ultimate motivation. Of course, he will retire one day, but till he does, we must savour the magic. A banner in Sharjah once said it all,

“I will see God when I die, but till then I will see Sachin!”

Amen.

Rajdeep Sardesai is Editor-in-Chief , IBN Network

[dhruv]

My husband, Sachin

Wife Anjali Tendulkar is Sachin’s lifeline; he depends on her for almost everything. Here, for the first time ever, Anjali opens up about the
pulls, pressures and delights of living with a legend...

TOI: How easy or difficult is it to be Mrs Sachin Tendulkar? How do you cope with the pressures?

For me, it's very easy because I've known Sachin for 19 years now. I understand him so well. So whether I am his girlfriend or his wife, it’s the same thing, just an extension of that bond. I don’t find it very difficult and I’m used to it. Maybe, it’s also because I’ve not known any other person in my life except Sachin. Of course, there are many challenges and difficulties to being his wife but the whole family, including my children, has learnt to deal with it.

Any regrets at all on the home front?

The only regret, even though we’ve learnt to cope with it, is that he’s not at home most of the time. I think even Sachin has realised this, now that the kids are growing up fast. Sara is 12 and Arjun is 10. We sometimes wonder where all the years have gone. Since he used to be away most of the time when they were growing up, now he tries to come home as much as possible. If a match gets over early, he’ll come home, stay overnight and then leave again in the morning. Though he’s trying his best to spend more time with the family, sometimes he’s not at home for birthdays, special occasions or even for the kids’ annual day at school. It matters a lot to the kids.

Is it true you can’t bear to watch Sachin live, and only see the recordings?

I don’t know where this came from. The fact is I watch every game, that too right from the start. Yes, I never go to the stadium but I watch it on TV. Actually, I have one particular spot in the house from where I can watch TV and also keep an eye on my Ganpati (Ganesha). I don’t eat. I don’t answer phones. I don’t drink. I don’t even move. I don’t reply to any sms until he’s out.

What is it about his batting that you admire the most?

I’m not a cricket connoisseur . I can’t talk about particular shots. What I like about him is that no matter how tense he is, or how much pressure there is on him, when he goes out to bat you don't see any of it. I've often asked him how it's possible not to get distracted while playing in front of thousands of screaming people. I do have friends whose husbands are also in highly stressful jobs, but they are not being scrutinised by the whole world every minute. So the way Sachin deals with the burden of expectations and doesn’t seem to get affected is what I admire the most.

Do you enjoy watching him bat? Is there any knock of his that you rate as the best, or is etched in your memory?

My problem is, unlike Sachin, who remembers each of his innings , each ball and how he got out, I don’t . Because when I am watching him bat, I’m so stressed and so focused that I just want him to do well, I cannot enjoy or remember much. For example, his 175 at Hyderabad has come in for huge praise, but I cannot say I enjoyed it. I was stressed out. But yes, I do remember that his Sharjah centuries were special. Then again, it is faint memory. I had had my first baby then and my attention was divided.

Do you lose sleep when he does well and the team does not, or vice-versa ?

It’s much worse when he does well and the team doesn’t . I know how much it affects him because, for him, the country always comes first. To me it doesn’t matter whether he scores one run or 10 runs or even a 100. I’ll still be happy because I know he’s really trying hard. But I know how much it affects him when he does well and the team loses, like it happened in Hyderabad. It’s very upsetting . It was a terrible feeling for me when I got up the next morning. In fact, it was devastating. Had he not done so well and had the team still won, it would’ve made us all feel much, much better.

Does Sachin ever talk about the game with you? Or does he just shut himself out of all things cricket when he is with his family?


I think what he liked about me was that I knew nothing about cricket when I first met him. But then, me being me, I read everything about the game. I came to know all the fielding positions but he doesn’t like me discussing cricket at home. But at times when he is low or upset, I do talk to him about cricket. Again, it’s not the game but things related to it that we discuss.

Have you ever grown tired of waiting for Sachin to return from a tour?

It's always been like that. These days, whenever he goes on a long tour, we usually try and plan a short holiday with the kids. Maybe during the school vacation or something. There's no other option for us.

Don’t you regret the fact that Sachin's fame prevents him from being a normal father?

It’s been like this from the beginning, so you accept it. It’s part of life even for our children. They know their father cannot do certain things. So we take the trouble once every year and go somewhere where he can be a normal father. Like in London, he takes Arjun to the park to play. Even there people recognise him, but they don't mob him and give him his space.

Please go back in time to when you met Sachin for the first time...

(Laughs) We've not really told many people this. I first met him at the Mumbai airport when he returned from his first tour of England in 1990, after scoring his maiden Test ton. In fact, when I first saw him at the airport, I didn't even know who he was. It was purely by accident! I was there to pick up my mother and Sachin was arriving with the Indian team. That’s where we saw each other for the first time... we had a courtship of five years and got married in 1995. We had got engaged a year before that in 1994 and that was in New Zealand.

Do you believe in destiny?

Yes, it is destiny and I believe in that.

Sachin has been known to go out in disguise sometimes. Did he ever use a disguise to meet you?

Yes he did, just once. We had gone to see the movie Roja. I was studying medicine then and a couple of my friends planned it. Sachin did try telling me that that it would be difficult, but I insisted that he come along. To make sure nobody recognised him, we even got him a beard. He wore specs as well and we went in late. We watched the first half of the film, but during the interval Sachin dropped his specs and people immediately recognised him! It was a bit of a disaster and we were forced to leave halfway.

You could have been a very successful doctor...

I loved medicine and a lot of people often ask me if I'm wasting my education. I don’t think so. Though I loved every moment of my studying days and my days at the government hospital, it then came to a stage when I realised that I could not be married to Sachin and also have a full-time career. It wasn't possible because he depends on me for almost everything. It was my decision. I thought I should be at home with him and make everything perfect for him.

In his childhood, brother Ajit did everything for Sachin, sacrificing his own interests. I thought I should do the same. Besides, mine would not have been a 9 to 5 job. I’m a paediatrician, so if there’s a patient calling me or someone admitted at odd hours, I have to make myself available . With Sachin not around and me with two kids at home, it wouldn't have been possible. I took a decision and I have never , ever regretted it.

How good is your Hindi?

(Smiles). Not as good as my English. But my Marathi is better as I converse with my mother-in-law in that language . Actually, my mother is English so we spoke the language at home, but I studied Hindi without tuitions till the tenth standard. At St. Xavier's in the XIth and XIIth class, I studied Russian. My children speak Hindi much better than both of us.


Have you ever dreamt of your son Arjun playing alongside Sachin?

Actually, I have thought about it but, realistically speaking, I don't think it's possible. If it ever happens it will be fantastic.

Are you aware there are emails being circulated with pictures of your new, under-construction shell house in Bandra? There are pictures of the interiors too...

Yes. They're all fake!

When will the house be ready for you to move in?

It will take one more year.

Can you tell us a bit about the new house? Will it look like a huge mansion or just a normal bungalow?

It will be a normal house. If you look at Mumbai and its space constraints , we are lucky to be having a nice home which will have everything Sachin wants. If he wants to go and play cricket with Arjun there is a garden, not a big one but there is one. There is a parking area for our cars down in the basement, room for Sachin's mother and the kids.

Sachin is very clear and sure about what he wants. A lot of things in the house are what he's always wanted. But we are in it together. Also, I'm the more scientific type, the more practical one. I'm only bothered about where the switches are going to be placed, where the TV connections are going to be, what the kitchen and bathroom layout is going to be. He's into the fancy and decorative side.

No swimming pool?

There is one lap pool on the terrace and a shallow one just for Sachin's fitness. A gymnasium will also be there.

Have you ever driven the Ferrari?

When Sachin got his Ferrari home I asked him to show me how to change its gears because they are near the steering and move with the fingers. To my surprise, he said, ‘You don't need to drive my Ferrari.' In fact, I needed to know because at times we need to move it when he's not around. It actually happened once and we couldn't move it. I've been longing to drive his Ferrari.

Any idea which is Sachin's favourite Lata Mangeshkar or Kishore Kumar number?

There are so many, I can't name one. He always likes listening to them. Initially, I had no knowledge about Hindi movies and songs, it's only after marriage that I began watching movies and now I really enjoy Hindi songs.

Do you have a big circle of friends and do you socialise much?

No, we have a close set of friends. They are either Sachin's longtime friends or my friends from the medical field. We don't get much time to socialise but we do go out for family dinners whenever possible.

What comes first in Sachin's life? Cricket, wife or family?

I think it was cricket first but now things have changed, which I feel is a natural progression. So now, it is both cricket and family.

Have you and Sachin ever thought about what life is going to be like after cricket, or how long he intends to play?

People often tell us that we ought to start thinking about what he's going to do after cricket. But I feel that when you are playing, you need to focus 100%. You cannot even think of what you'll do after cricket. So I always tell Sachin not to think about it. I tell him, ‘It doesn't matter, surely you'll find something to do, you have lots of interests.'

Also, maybe we can just take some time off and travel the world and then look ahead. I always insist that he should not worry about the future. At the same time, he will be at a total loss because his whole life has been cricket.

[dhruv]

Some quotes on "God"


"I have seen god, he bats at no.4 for India"
- Mathew Hayden

"I Will See God When I Die But Till Then I Will See Sachin'
- A banner in Sharjah

He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also.
- Waqar Younis

There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.
- Andy Flower

"Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?"
- Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin's catch in 2003 WC.

Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal.
- Brian Charles Lara

"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it."
- Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight.

"Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job."
- Yaseer Hameed in pakistani newspaper.

"To Sachin, the man we all want to be"
- Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin.

Â"Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives."
- BBC on Sachin

"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin."
- Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

"The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock."
- M. L. Jaisimha

"The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility -all make for a one-in-a-billion individual,"
- Glen McGrath

"I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play,"
- Anjali Tendulkar

Question: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?
Shah Rukh Khan: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan.
Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!!
- Shah Rukh Khan in an interview.

Â"India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte.. Â"
- Navjot Singh Sidhu on TV

Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last
two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my
astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best i have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.
- Allan Donald

On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in
India!!
- Peter Rebouck - Aussie journalist

"Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It's clear discrimination."
- NKP Salve, former Union Minister when Sachin was accused of ball tempering

"Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed coz even the GOD is watching"
- A hoarding in England

NOW THIS ONE IS PROBABLY THE BEST AND MOST CUTEST OF THE LOT

"Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar."
- Tendulkar's daughter, Sara, tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai.