SACH-IN-strumental journey...

Much has been written since November 1989. Much has been said since then. People who couldn't think of more to speak or write, have now started criticizing him. But for him, its life as usual, albeit important next month or so since its going to be last series he would ever represent Indian Cricket Team. Sachin, Messiah for some, God for some, greatest batsman for some, inspiration for some, idol for some, has finally announced his retirement from the game. It has been the life for him, maybe even oxygen. He breathed cricket, ever since he started playing. That was the only thing he has known for about 27-28 years, or maybe more. So I wish him all the best.

The runs that he will score would no longer matter now. Every run is a record already. Every test match he played, after he surpassed record of 168, by Steve Waugh, is a record in itself. And there are many more records in his name already. Most of them might even remain unbroken in the years to come. But few things would remain forever etched in minds of the current generation. The joy he has given to the millions who watched him play. The beauty of his flowing cover-drives, straight drives, the flick off his pads, the fierce square cut (even Jonty Rhodes rarely dared to stop it), the rare but effective pull over mid-wicket and the sixes over the head of the bowlers. There are many, these stand out head-and-shoulders over all other shots. As Sunil Gavaskar had pointed out once, there is not a single shot in the game that he has not played and not mastered. That's one of the best compliment from the person who himself was one of the best technicians in the game.

I have never been good at numbers, statistics. And as Navjot Singh Sidhu often quotes, statistics reveal only the dry facts. Sachin's career, his innings, have often been over-and-above the dryness of statistics. He started with the role of a destructor, often carting bowlers all-around the ground, regardless of their names, statures, records. From 1989 till about 1999 he often destroyed the bowling attacks of every team he played against. Probably, only the back-injury could hold him back in the new millennium.

The next decade saw him struggling with injuries that were career-threatening and he changed his style from the dominator to run-accumulator. He was still effective, and gave us glimpses of his earlier-self often, but the consistency in the aggression was largely gone. He also became the senior-most member in the team & hence the change in role was much-needed too, especially after the match-fixing scandal, to stabilize the innings rather than throwing away wicket in aggression. That job was left to the new-comers, new-blood, Sehwags/Yuvrajs to name a few.

The decline was evident. No one in the history of the game has been spared from the decline. It only mattered whether he wanted to bounce back, fight all odds & become the batsman we all connected with or he wanted to be smart enough to time his retirement (just for sake of saving himself from the fire). I personally feel he did the right thing to fight back all the demons, mostly in his mind rather than in his technique or 'slowing reflexes'. From his childhood, he has always known only one thing in life, playing cricket. In mid-thirties, you are still young. It is really hard to imagine life after cricket for someone like Sachin at that age. We all know, he is a fierce competitor & he wanted to be back on field.

It pained, though, to see him struggling. Struggling against the breed of bowlers who could have easily passed as club-cricket bowlers, giving away wickets to quite a few debutants. But there was nothing wrong in his technique. It was all in the head. We, the Sachin-lovers, the record-lovers, had started mounting up piles of expectations, pressure of the on-coming records; especially the 100th hundred. That is why I feel, it would have been good to see him retire after the World Cup win in 2011. Not because I was tired to see him struggle, but because it was unfair on him that we keep expecting so much from him alone, that we have forgotten the basics of the game. That the game is played by 10 more people representing the team, that they also have their own roles to play in the game. That they have to struggle to come into picture with all limelight on him and his on-coming records. It was unfair on them, particularly Dravid, that he always had to play in the shadow of Sachin; without complaining. Yes, Sachin deserved all the limelight, but we had almost starting to ignore Dravid's & many others' presence in the team.

This retirement will now give them a fair chance to prove themselves that they too are performers for the team. They too deserve limelight; maybe not as much as he got. But, one question remains. Will they all (or some of them) be loved by the nation as much as he was loved? Will they have that aura around themselves that he had? Will they be able to connect to any & every age group irrespective of the caste, religion, race, gender? He has set enormously high standards in this regard. It was not just the talent he was full of. It was not just the approach towards the game. It was not just the records that got under his arms. It was the way he carried himself on & off the field. It was his utmost commitment to the game & towards excellence. It was his innocent smile that conquered people, team-mates or opposition alike. It was his ability to stay away from the controversies, yet remain focussed on the game. It was his obsession with practice to iron out any flaws that often he himself found. It was his hunger to play the game as much as possible, irrespective of the numerous injuries he had. It was all this & more that nation loved about him. The standards, then, are really very high.

Coming back to cricket, there have been quite a few astonishing cricketers over the past 130+ years of the game. Almost every country playing the game has had legends of the game, especially batsmen (as SRT is a batsman first). Right from the times of the great WG Grace of England till today's generation, there have been numerous batsmen who probably were better than SRT. However, SRT has been master of the game in its entirety. He was master of ODI, Tests. (I am glad he didn't play much of the stupid T20 cricket.) He was equally at ease with both formats & was mightily able to switch between both formats as easily as a switch of a button. He played most number of matches in both format showing his longevity in both formats. He scored highest number of runs in both formats showing his ability to adapt to the format & situation. He scored highest number of centuries in both formats showing his mastery over the bowlers across both formats. He scored tons of runs in overseas tours alongside tons of runs in domestic/Indian subcontinent conditions showing his mastery of the conditions & pitches alike. And the fact that he gets a standing ovation across all cricket stadiums around the cricketing world shows that he (his self & cricketing ability) is loved all around the globe. It is this facet of his career that has put him on the top, higher than anyone else in the same era.

Yes, there was a Brian Lara, who was probably much better when he used to be in the 'zone' or in flow, thrashing all bowlers without any respect. There was a Steve Waugh who was as tough as "Wall" to break and always saved Australia from defeat. There is a Jacques Kallis, who possibly is the best all-rounder the game has ever seen. There was our own Rahul Dravid, probably a better technician than SRT. But none of them lasted so long, so consistent in both formats, so full of aura. And for that I salute SRT. His glittering career may come to an end post 18-Nov-2013. But he will remain in our memory forever till our last breath. With his exit, the last of the true-blue Mumbai cricket has gone. The last of the rich legacy of the Indian-style of batsman has gone. A Virat Kohli or a Rohit Sharma would take his place. But the aura would have gone by then. The love, adulation, respect, all for that one chosen guy will end.

SRT, thank you for all the joy you have given to us, to me. Thank you for bringing us closer to the game. Thank you for showing us that we can win against the might of the other teams, by taking attack to their doors. Thank you for everything. See you soon in the role of administrator, rather than a commentator. Hope you have your contribution in giving us another SRT. But till then, best wishes for your last series. Hope you score many more runs in the last 3-4 innings that we would get to see you. Hope you go on a high.