Sachin Tendulkar and Amitabh Bachcan – My Heroes
The great man has retired. There will be no more upper cuts or paddle sweep. So what? There are enough memories of his exploits which will remain with us. People often argue what is so great about him. The argument will stretch that he got out when he was needed, blah, blah……… My view is different. There is a very good article about Mr SRT on cricinfo and surely many of us will relate. I definitely do. For me, what made him great was the manner he took on opponents. I never realized this, but the more I think, the more I am convinced. What he did to Indian cricket was what Amitabh Bachchan did to Hindi movies. Here the angry young man, is fighting against the army of baddies, our little champion was taking on intimidating fast bowlers all over the world. The superstar stumbled at the last hurdle in two epics (Sholay and Deewar). Our Little Champion could not see India through against pak(133) and aus(90).
Sachin and Amitabh
The era which he started playing where an indian fan was used to losing. Here comes a little boy who started taking the bull by horns. It may seem exaggerating, but “Tum hamein maar nahi Sakte” is almost as recognizable as “Main yeh jaanta hoon ki main yeh kar sakta hoon”. Such has been his effect of exploits that he did not remain at coffee table or tea stalls, he came into our homes. I surely can relate to the article “Growing with him”. Following things may look like stories, but they are facts.
- The day of my last engineering paper was the day “he” beat Australia in Sharjah. That innings is part of Tendulkar folklore. I don’t remember the name of the subject (where I scored an A), but I rue that I could not see about first seventy runs because of the paper.
- Kolkata test is known for VVS and Rahul. But even on the last day, India did not win until Sachin gave a test of his own medicine to Warne, a googly. (35/3)
- The writer has witnessed fighting people over what he cannot do. Some people even suggested that he can become president of India. He is currently a rajya sabha member, you never know what happens next.
- The way he took on Henry Olonga after getting out on a bouncer. People said this is end of his career. He had played 12 years now. I boarded a train to my home town and there was a scheduled stop of about 20 minutes. On the platform, the match was live on TV. Me and my friend could not believe, but Sachin and Saurabh won the game in about thirty overs, with special treatment meted out to Henry. You will probably not believe that train started about 20 minutes late from its scheduled departure, after the match was finished.
Whatever may be the case, but the exit was unceremonius from the stage which was his. Mr Bachchan has reinvented him, I hope he says goodbye to test cricket in grand style.
Note: This article started just after his announcement for retirement, but seeing the light late.
