How can God retire?

Felt my heart beat had stopped: Amitabh Bachchan on Sachin Tendulkar's retirement.

This was a statement that reflected almost a million thoughts on Thursday 10^th October 2013 when Sachin Tendulkar announced that he would retire after his 200^th Match this December.

The debate on the when, how, why and why not has been circulating in the media for as long as I can remember. When he was going through a lean patch, immediately the detractors would call for his head, to be sacked or dropped. No other issue, not even the identity of India’s next Prime Minister, has been more widely discussed in recent months than Sachin Tendulkar’s impending retirement. But as they say form is temporary class is permanent. Nobody can deny anyone their day in the sunshine and the shadows obviously come with it.

On the afternoon of a balmy October Thursday, the batsman regarded as the best of his generation put speculation to rest when he sent a message to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that the second Test against the West Indies in November, his 200th, would be his swan song.

On calling it a day in office he said “All my life I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years. It’s hard for me to imagine a life without playing cricket because it’s all I have ever done since I was 11 years old. It’s been a huge honour to have represented my country and played all over the world. I look forward to playing my 200th Test Match on home soil, as I call it a day.”

Such humility from a man whose career has spanned at least 2 generations and binds at least 3 generations.

It’s as if the heartbeat of India Cricket has suddenly stopped, my thoughts immediately were “Its hard for us to imagine Cricket without you #sachin_rt; the no. 4 slot in test cricket without you, the blue no. 10 jersey without you; and most of all the #IndianCricketTeam without you..”

He was the epitome of dedication, discipline, humility hard work and never say die attitude. He was always and till today is respectful and grateful to all those who had trained, guided and stood by him, took criticism in his stride and never held a grudge against anyone. Somehow its going to be difficult for all Sachin followers worldwide to imagine Cricket without him, more so Indian Cricket. Though I dare say he has chosen the right time to retire considering there are so many people who are fighting for a place in the playing 11 like Yuvraj, Virat, Rohit, Shikhar and many more.

A friend of mine very aptly said “how can the God retire?”

To encapsulate a career such as Tendulkar’s in a few hundred words would be impossible for the simple reason that he is more than just a sportsperson, at least in the Indian context. Through his prowess as a cricketer and his personality, he became a metaphor of something bigger: the oncoming of a New Age India.

Tendulkar’s arrival in 1989 virtually coincided with India’s economic rise the liberalization of old controls that opened up society in ways until then unimaginable. This imbued people with a new desire and self-belief that, in many ways, Tendulkar himself embodied.

He was a copy book player but a breath of fresh air as far as batting technique was concerned, also bold in his stroke play, unscarred by the defensive nature of the Indian greats whom he followed. In a sense, he combined the sterling qualities of his two childhood heroes, Sunil Gavaskar and Viv Richards, and cricket had a genius in its midst. In a cricket-crazy country such as India, Tendulkar managed to charm and dominate the environment like none other, from any walk of life; for the rest of the world, he was a talent of extraordinary proportions that they would love to call their own.

He was part of a wonderful bunch that rebuilt Indian cricket—Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and V.V.S. Laxman.

He started out as a child prodigy, smashing records as a schoolboy. By the time he was 15, he found stellar mention in Wisden and the Guinness Book of Records. He made a century on debut in the Ranji, Duleep and Irani trophies—and all this before he was 16. He played his first Test some months later and scored his maiden Test century a couple of months after he turned 17. But unlike many other such precociously talented youngsters, he proved himself as an adult as well through a long and glorious career that has lasted over 20 years. There is almost no record that Tendulkar has not broken and there are innumerable impossible targets that he has set for those who will follow him. For example, 100 international centuries and 200 Test matches, both of which might stand the test of time.

“No one can replicate what Sachin has done as a brand in modern India,” says Anirban Das Blah, managing director of Kwan Entertainment and Marketing Solutions.

 On announcing his retirement the print media as well as the digital Media went berserk but there was on article which I found very amazing, and had a load of trivia on him:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournament/sachin-tendulkar-to-hang-his-boots/top-stories/40-facts-you-didnt-know-about-Sachin-Tendulkar/articleshow/23928267.cms?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral

From test cricket to one day internationals to T 20’s he played them all and excelled in each one of them. His ultimate dream was India winning the world cup and Mumbai Indians winning the IPL and Champions League in the same year.

The Indian team realized that this would be the last world cup that the little master would be playing and they dedicated this victory to him as a send off and nothing delighted the little master more than this victory. It was a pleasure for me to be in that stadium as he was given the lap of honour.

His happiness was compounded when the Mumbai Indians won the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

 Legendary spinner Shane Warne has described his one time nemesis and later friend Sachin Tendulkar, who has announced retirement from Test cricket, as the greatest batsman of his generation. In a series of tweets, Warne said he was privileged to have engaged in some of the famous cricketing duels with the Indian batsman. "Sachin was easily the best player over the last 20 years & will be remembered as one of the all time greats! Truly an amazing player," said leg-spin king Warne whose duels on a cricket field with Tendulkar have become stuff of the game's folklore.

"I have seen God, he bats at no. 4 for India"  - Mathew Hayden

"Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal" - Brian Lara

"There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others."  - Andy Flower

"He has defined cricket in his fabulous, impeccable manner"  - Richie Benaud

"I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six." - Shane Warne
 

"I know that the new ball is due, but I am saving it for that "Chotu" (Sachin) who is coming next”. Imran Khan (captain) of Pakistan to Javed Miandad (vice captain) in Sachin's debut test series (1989)

"We did not lose to a team called India, we lost to a man called Sachin (after the two famous innings in Sharjah in 1998)."  - Mark Taylor 

"The way he has taken on the role of India's greatest sporting ambassador- he has, among other things, inspired a generation and more to play cricket." - Kapil Dev

"I saw him (Sachin) playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...hi compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel." - Sir Don Bradman

No other Indian cricketer has wielded so much influence, swayed so many Indians emotionally for so long. Over the past quarter of a century, Tendulkar had become a habit that his countrymen might find extremely difficult to overcome. I, for one will sure feel the withdrawal symptoms.