"As long as there is
a reason to wake up with a reason in the morning, it makes sense in continuing
(playing cricket). The day I don`t enjoy wielding bat in my hands, I will think
otherwise. But that moment hasn`t come as yet. When I will get that feeling, I
will confirm on that," says Sachin Tendulkar when hit with queries regard
to his retirement.
It has been 21 years since Sachin Tendulkar stepped in to the
International Cricket. Sachin has been breaking cricket records ever since his debut, and will surely break more
records in the time to come if given chance to. A hundred international
hundreds, first double-ton in one-day international and this list goes too long
to mention the legendary records he grabbed over the past 21 years of his
career.
Lately, Sachin is being criticized in regard to his retirement as he’s
unable to perform at par in comparision with his previous stats. Even at
the twilight of his career, with the last long rays of his former blaze casting
but a mere dip in his fantastic career, he continues to dominate discussions. In the debates that followed India’s embarrassing loss in the recent
test, a few former players suggested that Tendulkar should resign. For most,
the argument was that Sachin is a legend and he can decide better than anyone
of us can. Looking at the stats in the
past two years he seems to lose his touch but still he is delivering to the
needs and major role in converting matches to victories many a times. Also he
has the highest rate of converting matches to victories than any other cricket
legend in their careers’. In a way, hostile as the cricketing world has
been to the recent performance of the Indian team a lot of the criticism has
been diverted and absorbed by that ageing giant pointing at him, asking him to
retire at the cost of his prestige. But we are
no one to point out asking him not to live his passion. Fans in huge numbers
started criticizing him forgetting the occasions he has carried the
aspirations of the Nation on his shoulders and provided to celebrate the
victories.
For those who term his
as selfish and playing for records here is the truth why you call him so:
If he crosses the 100
line and the team loses we say India loses when he scores a ton. If he’s
stopped at 90’s we say its nervous ninety. If he’s out at 50-70 that isn’t any
a notable contribution to the team. Inspite of forgetting the invariable his
contribution to the team in 2003 and 2011 world cup we term him selfish as he
holds huge number of records. For those who criticize him as selfish, wake up
and digest the fact that he is the most prolific runmaker of all time, and
arguably the biggest cricket icon the game has ever known. Fans after terming
him as god of cricket expect a heavenly superstitious performance to be in form
scoring tons throughout. Hence his dip in recent past drove a lot of criticizing
comments. But we all know that Sachin is no less than the legend of cricket.
Tendulkar's considerable
achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of
expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable
followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred in each innings
as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, in the recent times,
but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshiped cricketer in the
world. Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for
losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best
batsmen in the world.
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