Yes I am Sachin’s fan !

The same feeling… Always and every time… Sweaty palms, dry throat, excitement, anxiousness, pressure… That is how a billion of us feel when the small Big man comes out… The Little Master…

Bat tucked under his arm, the helmet bearing India’s flag resembling the crown of a king or a God, those peculiar buckled pads, wearing those gloves which hold that divine bat, he walks down the steps of the Pavilion every single time. A small pause at the boundary rope and down he strides. Confidence, a great poise, unmatched composure define his body language.

The crowd expect him to score every time he holds that bat. It is a bad place to be in, the huge shoes of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. The pressure of performance, the pressure of expectations would have pushed him down. But he always comes out of the stress like an arrow which comes out of a stressed bow… Firing and rearing to go! A few steps into the ground, he looks back up at the heaven. And as a spectator, i can see those eyes composed, determined, focused, yet extraordinarily calm. I feel the pressure myself… We can’t even imagine what that little figure on the ground faces mentally.

As i look back and as i think about the future, a chill runs down my spine. Is it almost time? The dreadful moment, an inevitable one though? It ought to happen some dreaded day. But he is not an ordinary human, we argue with ourselves. He just cannot retire, cries an ardent Cricket fan! All of us want to see him play forever because he is simply a class apart! No one even comes close to him! And it is not just the statistics which prove this. It is the pure joy which we get when we see him bat! It is a delight to see that tiny figure get on top of every bowler he has faced. The simple joys which he has given us, the countless happy memories we all share… It seems like a huge family bound by the greatness of Sachin Tendulkar… He is a unifying factor.

Just think for yourselves, let me not impose any emotions.
How many times have you compromised and sacrificed things to see the Maestro bat!
How many times have you left your colleges early inspite of submissions!
How many times have you done things in a haste to see the Champion!
How many of you have drove fast and rash just because India was one down and you wanted to be home when Sachin walks out to bat!
I am sure, if you are a cricket lover, you would have done these things and i am sure you would have done them just for that one Godly person, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, and no one else! That sums up what Sachin means to a billion of us who have followed cricket all their lives. Sachin has been a huge reason why we all have developed interest in the game.

Sachin has reduced the number of matches he is playing by quite a lot! And WE MISS HIM!!! The team has lost its spark! The Indian Team does not look the same anymore. And the reason? It is Sachin’s absence. We just can’t see the team without the Little Master.

I am sure that i am not the only one who has prayed to God for Sachin! I remember the day when i was at my aunt’s place, standing near her Television with my brother. It was World Cup 1999, England. And we got a call from my dad saying that Sachin had lost his father. That was an instant when we felt oneness with Sachin. I was short of tears and that is when i realized how much Sachin meant to us, that his nervousness was our nervousness, his loss, ours! And I can’t forget Sachin’s face when he returned to England and gave an interview wearing sunglasses. It was a bond which we all must have felt at that time between Sachin and us!

He has found a place in our day to day lives, day to day prayers… Sachin has found a place in our hearts and he is there to live in our hearts forever! Sachin just cannot do anything wrong… I am sure, i am not the only one who thinks this way! It is this immense faith and trust which he has built over the years! Sachin, for us, is an impeccable human being. He has earned the blessings of all the “Mothers” of India and he has earned the accolades of all the proud “Fathers” of India… He is loved by all his “Brothers” and “Sisters”. He is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and the name says it all!

I am just writing this as a simple Sachin fan. I am just one among those billion! And i am proud to be his fan!

Long Live the Master Blaster!!! Heartfelt wishes to the Little Master…

Sach is Life!!!

Sachin Fan Forever!!!

-Rugved Pankaj Mehta. MBA(ITBM) 2013-2015 @ SCIT