20 Years of Sachin Magic!!

When I was a kid, I didn't see much of cricket. To watch an away series, we had to wake up real early & I hated that. So I didn't share much of my dad's enthusiasm in terms of cricket. As I grew up, the interest slowly picked up. Kapil Dev was my favorite cricketer in those days. And then Sourav Ganguly came along & I loved the grace of this guy as he effortlessly caressed bowlers through the offside. He remained my favorite till the time he retired. But all this time, I never really idolized Sachin Tendulkar. I loved it when he played, but I wasn't a Sachin fanatic, and I am not, even now.
For bowlers all over the world, this small guy with a really compact technique had become one of the most feared batsmen to bowl at. Among his several innings, my most favorite were the 100's he scored @ Sharjah against a mighty Australian side as he won the triangular tournament for India, single-handedly. He, along with Sourav Ganguly, had forged one of the most deadly opening partnerships that the cricketing world has ever seen. And I am pretty doubtful if I would ever enjoy any 2 batsmen play, the same way as I enjoyed watching the Sachin-Sourav pair. And now, as the nation celebrates 20 years of Sachin magic, I don't think words are enough to say how I feel. I could go on listing stats to show he is the best batsmen of all time, but what the hell, we all know this fact.
I have lost all interest in cricket in the past few years. The T-20s have somewhat killed the excitement I had & the IPL was perhaps the last nail in the coffin. I only follow test matches nowadays.
As more & more players have become eagerly concerned about the IPL, rather than playing for India, watching international games has become just a waste of time for me. The reason is that I do not think these so-called "YOUNG" players today play with the intensity that they should demonstrate when representing a nation of cricket fanatics.
I did not watch even a single game in the recently concluded India-Australia series. For me the series had got over even before it started (WTF, I had even predicted the final scoreline of the series correctly :P). But amongst all these things, there was just one small flame that made me sit down with amazement. I did not have the privilege to watch Sachin's innings of 175 unfold LIVE, but the highlights were enough for me to get the spark back. As he hammered the Aussies all over the park, I was watching utterly amazed at what this man could do, even after so many years.
Frankly speaking, I really felt that there was just one man playing for INDIA that day & everyday in this series. The rest were TEAM BCCI. Nothing much has changed since the 90's. Sachin still takes us near the end & all he asks for is support from the team. But rarely does the team answer back. "YOUNGISTAN" players have replaced the so-called "OLDIES" because they are supposedly more fit. These FIT players of ours do not even want to dive when there is a need to do so. All they do is smile for the camera, those shameless smiles.
People say Sachin is GOD. I beg to differ. I say, he is a mere mortal like you & me. And I believe that the GOD above created him for a reason. The reason was to give us a belief that a mere mortal is capable of great things, things that we can be in awe of. A belief that if an individual is committed, focussed & hard working, the impossible can be achieved. A belief that if we get a chance to represent our motherland at any stage, we should make it count & give it our all. Because, even today, when a bowler begins his run-up & sees a small man with an Indian flag on his helmet, he has this feeling in the back of his mind, "I am not bowling to this one man...I am bowling to an entire nation!!"
Thanks Sachin, for giving us those wonderful moments & I hope you keep giving us more in the years to come!!