Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

What do i need to say about this person? He is a genius and his records speaks for himself.. More than 10,000 runs in both the forms of game, he is a person who lets his bat to do the talk. I have been a big fan of Sachin since i started watching cricket. As a matter of fact, i hated cricket completely in the beginning and it was only after Sachin i started watching the game. I am such a die hard fan that i used to switch off my TV when he gets out and not allow anyone else to watch as well. But that was when i was some 5 or 6 years old.

The thing that bothers me the most is the recent talk about sachin, the debates as to whether he should be in the team or not and is he good enough to play one day or t20 cricket. How can people even possibly speak of this genius in such an uncouth manner?? Seriously , these 24x7 News channels create all kind of debates to stay ahead in the race. But they shouldn't forget the man who has brought Indian cricket to this level and without him India wouldn't have been the same Cricket frenzy nation as it is today. A commentator once said it was "Ten" dulkar versus the opponent team in the late 1990's. Without Sachin, neither would cricket have got its importance nor would the other youngsters have the desire to play cricket as of today in India. He has been the country's sporting icon for more than two decades and now people doubt the capability of such a cricketer, this is mere insanity. I remember an article of Nirmal Shekhar of Hindu, named the Taj Mahal of India. It was one of my favorite articles where he draws a comparison between Sachin and the Taj Mahal. The Taj has been a monument of love and beauty for several decades. Foreigners still get amazed by its beauty and marvel at its magnificence. But we, the people of India don't realize its beauty and dont even care to maintain it. Sachin's also like the Taj, people here don't appreciate him as much as he deserves, at least he doesnt deserve all these baseless criticisms if not for the praise. Every other cricketing nation covets for a cricketer like Sachin to be in their team. Infact, people all over the world come for the match just to see him play and even forget about their country in the process. I remember the Sydney test where Sachin scored a 241*, which helped India save the match, when the Sydney crowd were interviewed they didn't even mind their lost opportunity but were very happy that they were able to witness such a masterful innings. He is the only person to be cheered even if he is not playing that match, even if another cricketer hits a boundary, you can her the shouts "SACHIN, SACHIN.." being chanted by the crowd. So, high is the caliber of this person that he would put some of the cricketing greats to shame.

India has found some new exciting young players and they are pretty talented. But there is no one to match the caliber of this person. And i hope everyone would agree with this fact. Don't defame the reputation of a genius based on a few failures. And please put an end to all the debates about him being in the team and his retirement. I would like to finish off by quoting some fan's quote which i had seen in a match...

" Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my god".