Sachin Tendulkar turns 38

Naren Tamhane, one of the Indian selectors in 1989 made a statement that perhaps changed the face of cricket forever. During a selection meet where the Indian team for the Pakistan tour was to be selected, Tamhane remarked about a young boy who was slowly making his name in Mumbai as a budding cricketer: “This boy Tendulkar, he never fails.”

And thus, began one of the greatest journeys of cricketing history.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar turns 38 today, and this might be his sweetest birthday ever. The only jewel missing from Tendulkar’s glittering crown was the World Cup, and this year that too has been conquered.

Amidst 99 international hundreds that were laced with finance and ferociousness, the sight of tears rolling down an emotional Tendulkar in front of the joyous Wankhede stands out. Who knew the man who has given India countless smiles, could make it cry with joy too.

That has perhaps been Tendulkar’s biggest achievement; a feat which perhaps no one can boast about. Tendulkar won the heart of the whole of India.

India’s 1.2 billion people chant his name as he comes out to bat; they break into a thunderous applause every time he drives, cuts and pulls; they watch anxiously every time he nears a hundred; dance with deliriousness every time he crosses a milestone and their hearts break when he has to walk back to the pavilion. That is the might of Tendulkar. He is India’s proudest possession and its most loved son.

Tendulkar has played international cricket for 22 years now, and he has not been merely around. He has been world cricket’s leading man, has taken the game to the next level and created records that now seem almost impossible for someone else to even come close.

But, even the phenomenal numbers that Tendulkar has achieved cannot do justice to his contribution to Indian cricket. Tendulkar is beyond numbers.

Batsmen play to score runs, but very few of them can make batting look ridiculously easy. And fewer bat like Tendulkar who has flogged Shoaib Akhtar at his fastest and Shane Warne at his most obtuse, has scored as many runs abroad as in India, dominated on dry and damp, and has been classy in his brutality.

As he grows a year older, the question rises again – how long will he play? As Peter Roebuck once said – “For Tendulkar, scoring runs is the easy part. Stopping will be the difficult one.”

However, stopping doesn’t seem to be anywhere in Tendulkar’s plans. Countless games later, the 16-year-old in him is still dominating the older and wiser man, as he enthusiastically marshals his Mumbai Indians troops with the orange cap resting on his head with pride.