SRT - A legend fading away

The euphemisms had run out. On May 23, 1999, as Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar dedicated an unbeaten 140 runs to the memory of his father who had passed away just four days ago, millions and millions of Indians considered themselves blessed. On that day India rewrote the definition of the word Pride. It now read: Sachin.

Sachin's return had brought back hope once again to a World Cup almost snatched away in the bud. Sports writers groped around for adjectives to describe his feat. But, it seemed that they had run out of superlatives. The word "best" seemed too little; the word "great" fell short by far. When Sachin Tendulkar took his guard that day, India came to a standstill. Every backlift was accompanied with a million prayers, every stroke played with passionate pride, every boundary with boundless joy.

The light had gone out in his life. Yet he brought it back to every cricket lovers' life.

As he entered the arena, he looked like a little vulnerable child. But once he took his guard, there were angels all over the field. They seemed to have come down to protect him, watch over him, help him keep his calm and concentration, making him nothing short of invincible. As he hammered 140 not out in 101 deliveries, he stopped only to look up at the skies at 50 and then again at 100 as he wiped a tear from his eye.

At the end of the day, no other than his mentor, Sunil Gavaskar said in a voice choked with emotion. "We are truly blessed with special talent." Wrote Gavaskar later, "...Even the Gods stopped to watch" And the Prime Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, seemed to echo the sentiment of the entire country as he said, "The whole of India is proud of you. You have showed the entire nation, especially the Indian youth, how to serve the nation by overcoming each and every adversity."

He is truly a legend, a master of techniques.His god like off and straight drives and those mightly sweeps and cuts might all come to an end one day .. And sadly the day doesnt look too far beyond the World Cup..Sachin has had a horrid run of events from the time India was under Rahul Dravid.His ODI form has gone from bad to worse and his test fortunes dont seem to take a turn to the other side either.The last test in RSA typified his recent batting woes and by padding against a debutant left arm spinner, it can clearly be said that a nail has been smashed into his retirement coffin and it wont be long after the world cup that he might have his ODI chapter closed .After all he has been a part of over 350 odi's and has been the greatest servant for Indian Cricket - during those miserable post 1999 WC trauma and during the match fixing scandal.

But hey then for how long will he ride on his glory?Its been a year since Sachin got some form and its been since 2001 that he has been on this 'on' and 'off' switch.May be the ODI toll is telling on him, may be he is getting to become a grumpy old man, may be his family and social life have a say or may be he has just lost his momentum and confidence.But then, the rules are the same for a young Pathan and for a old war horse.With due respect he has been given a long rope and unfortunately the rope never seems to end.Its high time that Indian selectors show some fairness and show some concern towards the future of Indian cricket and follow the Australian Boards policy (have the teams welfare infront of the individual).With sheer talent getting wasted in the ranji circle - courtesy some lackluster attitude of the selectors who go in for old warhorses than fresh new blood, the future of Indian cricket needs to be in the mind of the selectors.Sachin can indeed be a part of this future(for a small period to come) but then his ODI mood needs to be tightened up and his place needs to be given up for grabs.

The time has come and the inevitable happens..And its time we bow down to Sachin and thank him for all the wonderful entertainment he has given us .. Its been truly awesome and to watch him bat one of his greatest innings against Pakistan in Chennai (1999) will be one of the most cherished moments in my life..Kudos Sachin - you have changed the game of cricket!