As I am sitting down, with tears flowing down the cheek and
a big lump in throat, I am not thinking of what has already been written or
said about the “Pride of India”, rather thinking of the last 26 years of my
life which has been revolving around Cricket because of Sachin “Paaji”.
I remember reading about this child prodigy in Sportstar
& “Cricket Samrat” regularly and a
huge buzz surrounding his name” since 1988. Then, I very prominently remember
30th October 1989, the Nehru Cup Semifinal which India lost badly to
WI. I had a huge discussion with my friends about the inclusion of Sachin
Tendulkar in the Indian Team post that match, arguing replacing old blood with
New. Not to my surprise Sachin got selected for the Indian team for the Pakistan
Tour a month later and I was elated. The next memory was of Tom Alter’s
interview of Sachin just before he was embarking on the Pakistan tour and
somehow there was a distinct look of self-belief and motivation in his eye. To
my credit, I didn’t go to school just to have a look at him for his first
International Match J.
I remember he was fielding at Long Leg in his white sweaters when he first
fielded the ball. What I didn’t know at the time was the joy this baby face
will bring to the life of a nation and to the people worldwide.
One of the moment that stood out for me in that series and
something that confirmed that he is there to put his mark on international
cricket was the 2nd inning of 4th Test in Sialkot. India
were some 30 odd for 5 against Imran’s army of Waqar, Wasim and Aquib, when “Paaji”
came to crease. It was the second delivery he faced from Waqar and got hit on
his face. Blood oozing out from his face and still he told Sidhu - “Maain
Khelega”. He went on to save the Test
and Series for India.
In my eyes, he crossed the human boundary during the 1999
world cup when he came back to play after his father’s sad demise. All the years
of watching him with awe turned into respect and out of shear respect for playing
that game and holding on the battle within himself and going on to score a century
against Kenya I bowed to him for the first time. It was conquer by all means
and in my watery eyes the greatest conquer “paaji” ever had in his life. I
remember jotting this down in my personal diary which I used to maintain at that
time.
There are various visuals of “paaji”embedded in my memory –
Sachin hitting Hadlee for Six over long-off in a double wicket tournament and
Sushil Doshi shouting in commentary box “Sachin ne maaidan par aate hi
vidyutiya chapalta utpanna kar di hai”, Various sixes dancing down the ground,
Sledging Mcgrath in the 2000 ICC Mini world cup, Hitting Shoaib for a Six in
2003 world cup & so on. It’s difficult to name one, however, the one that
stamps a permanent place in my mind is of 2011 World Cup final, when he was
sitting on Pathan’s Shoulder and shedding tears, I was privileged to see it
live from the ground and the scene is still fresh in my mind. That showed how
much it meant to him and that behind a hard man there exists a soft heart which
beats for cricket.
As years went by and “Paaji” redefined the art of Batting
with a Paddle Sweep & an upper cut etc,
mastering over his own-self and increasing his durability, one fear that
kept hitting me was – till how long the joy will last? Now that my fear has
come true, I will continue to watch cricket with the same passion knowing well
within my heart that it will never ever be the same again……….
As all of India is weeping
by his departure & the tenderness of his farewell speech, I for one didn't think
that I will be inconsolable – What a speech & what a man……!!!!
I bow to you master……..
खुदी को कर बुलंद इतना कि हर तक़दीर से पहले;
खुद बन्दे से खुद पूछे बता तेरी रज़ा क्या है।
