Salaam Sachin

Never, not even in my wildest dreams, had I ever thought that I would, someday, blog about sports. The reason for this being my abysmally low knowledge of sports and my total disinterest in most forms of sport.

But, here I am today, blogging about sports, about cricket, about Sachin Tendulkar. The reason, of course, is Sachin creating history, just a couple of days back when he became the first batsman in the world to hit a double hundred in a one day international, that too against South Africa, one of the best teams in the world. Truly, ‘Sachin is God’.

I have always admired Sachin, for much better and much bigger reasons than his cricketing genius. He exemplifies true sportsmanship. Even after twenty years in international cricket, he still shows the enthusiasm, spirit, zeal and energy that he did as a twenty year old. He is a person who creates new records and breaks existing records, every time he goes on to bat and yet remains modest and humble. Almost every time Sachin is criticized for his poor play, he performs like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, and silences his critics. And countless times, players of the opponent team have abused him verbally, and yet he has never lost his cool. He has answered their slaying with his bat. And so many records and runs later, he is still the same invincible Sachin, approachable to anyone who needs help. He is a thorough team man, and plays for his team rather than himself; he is dejected when the team loses even after he gives a splendid performance. And in spite of being the number 1 cricketer in the world, he never misses a day of practice.

And last but not the least; he is a Mumbaikar to the core. Even today, whenever he finds time, he still plays first-class domestic cricket for Mumbai, with most of his team mates half his age, who have grown up watching him play. He has inspired millions of cricket fans nationwide and worldwide and is the face of Indian Cricket today. It won’t be wrong to say that the Indian cricket team still depends upon him, to a certain extent.

Being the genius that he is, is never easy. Despite his simple ways, he still manages to attract some controversies. But just as we would expect somebody of his stature to be, Sachin is unfazed and unaffected by them. People, who try to malign his reputation, are the ones, whose reputation gets affected; because Sachin enjoys a special place in peoples’ hearts. And nothing and nobody can ever change that. It will indeed be a sad day for cricket, when Sachin decides to retire. And till then, may the master-blaster hit many thousands of runs and win many millions of hearts. Jai Ho, Sachin.

Interesting one-liners

God wanted to play cricket, so Sachin was born.

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If you want to commit any sins, do so while Sachin is batting. Because the Lord won’t notice your sins, when he is busy playing cricket.