Sachin – the God of Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar is perhaps the best thing to happen to not just INDIA and INDIAN Cricket, but the sport in general. He is easily the most worshipped Cricketer across the globe. More than 34,000 runs scored on all kinds of home and away turfs at an unbelievable 48. 74 is testimony enough of the astounding consistency he has shown during the breath-taking 23-year International Career. He is pretty obviously the most prolific run-getter of all times. Technically too, He is the most complete batsman of modern era. Be it hooks, pulls, cuts, punches, drives, sweeps, slogs or lofts, He can play it all. Be it spin, swing or pace, He can tackle it all with seamless audacity and grace. Sachin Tendulkar is probably the greatest exponent of the game. While scoring the astonishing number of runs He has, Tendulkar has invented millions of ways of piercing the field and coaxing the ball towards the patrolled rope; at times using the bat like a sword used to slash enemies; and at times carefully using it like a surgeon’s knife used to pierce the deepest of tissues. Adaptation, accumulation and consolidation have seemed synonymous with Sachin Tendulkar, evidence of which is the big-hundreds He scored against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand after 2009, when He was in His late-30s, in a format presumed to be a youngster’s paradise. Apart from the staggering achievements and brilliant technique, what puts Tendulkar in a league of His own is the kind of impact and influence He has had on modern-day Cricket. Time and again, He has demolished and pulverized top-notch bowling attacks into instant submissions; something no one else has managed to do so effortlessly and so consistently. What elevates Tendulkar’s greatness is the fact that He has achieved all these records and laurels while constantly being under tremendous pressure from a billion people and while being under constant scrutiny of the national media. The greatness lies in the fact that Tendulkar has still never crumbled under this constant pressure and has on most of the occasions stood up, lead the pack and delivered. The humility and modesty He has displayed during the enthralling journey has ensured that He is not just followed and loved, but worshipped by the Nation from the bottom of the heart. Fames, riches, mansions, fast-cars, limelight and anything else that comes His way as a perk for being the greatest Cricketer He is seem to have left Him absolutely unfazed. His moorings have always remained on firm ground and remain so till date. Sachin Tendulkar has spell-bound the nation like no one else. There might be a couple of personalities whose exploits in their respective professions have enthralled the nation, but even they have not been able to sustain it for as long as Tendulkar has. He is diminutive, yet the tallest INDIAN alive.