When there are so many people to be admired on-field, Tendulkar is one of the rarest breeds, who has been a role model for millions both on and off field, for over 20 years.
‘He bats with what appears like 3 meter wide bat’ said Michael Hussey recently when he made those mammoth 403 runs in the recent Border-Gavaskar series this Sep-Oct 2010. So late in his career Tendulkar still seems to bat like a 21 year old forgetting the fact that ‘his cricket is 21 years old’!
‘The thing in him’ is God-given, a few may argue. But probably when we sit back and think about it, we realize it is only 30% true. It was attitude that covered the remaining part of the percentage calculation. From what his mentors at the school level say, he refused any offering that would prohibit him from practicing that day. As a 14-year old, the great man had played 55 days of cricket without a break!
His wasn’t a path ‘strewn with roses’. If at all it was, the observers’ eyes have probably refused to notice the thorns in the way he had traversed. In what has been a glorious career, there has been nothing that he has not crossed may it be injuries, criticism etc. His game is largely defined by his aggression, passion for the game, commitment to the team and hunger for runs.
What differentiates Sachin from others is the way he has handled the pressure, criticism and a huge fan-following who almost expect him to score a century every time he gets into bat. All that most people notice about him is the fame and fan following. Little have they realized that nothing came to him ‘free of cost’.
When he summed up so many centuries against his name, there were people who said he played for records, when he got out in the 90’s so many times, there were people who questioned his inability to convert them into centuries!
A few injuries even got ‘free advertisement’, by coming in the way of the great man’s career. He really had to strain his every nerve to become a master of not only the game he plays, but his own mind and body.
One of the few things, that astonished me in recent times was the way he carried himself as a captain and T20 player for the IPL team Mumbai Indians. Those were skills he had to pursue so late in his career. He is not afraid to learn so late in his career, when his generation cricketers are becoming an integral part of the commentary crew.
Off the field, Tendulkar is known for his commitment to the family and strict adherence to religious values. Tendulkar has probably led a life that carries so many messages not only to every aspiring cricketer, but to every one who wants to match his greatness in the field they pursue.
The life of his own friend would probably tell us it was not mere talent that allowed him to dominate the game for 20 years. Vinodh Kambli was probably rated higher in talent than Tendulkar. But a right attitude and a well led personal life, acted as a gulf between the two!
“The harder you practice the luckier you get” goes the old saying. Tendulkar attributes all his success to the preparation and hard-work he puts-in before every game. More than talent, it is his attitude that has taken him to the pinnacle of glory.
As the great man said in the post match presentation after a scoring a hundred in the second innings of a test match against England, ‘sometimes people threw stones, but he converted them into milestones’ And no wonder he has made adjectives and superlatives gravitate towards his name!
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