Sachin Shrugged

The icon for so many. The man, for whom runs, records and respect, know no limits.The God of so many.
And finally, the best, and worst thing...the hope, for so many.
Sachin Tendulkar.


You could say that an introduction is quite unnecessary. Heck, I'm even angry with blogger, for underlining his name in red. But then, we should consider the possibility of someone from, I don't know, Argentina, stumbling upon this post. (And don't you dare make that face. It happens!)

When I wake up and get The Times of India every morning, I almost always flip directly to the sports page (the exception being some picture of a rich beautiful celeb on the global news, perhaps Carla Bruni).
Anyways, for those of you who're following, you might have noticed, there's a daily section for comments from celebrities(ranging from Priyanka Chopra, to Jeev Milkha Singh), on who's going to do it for Team India, in the forthcoming World Cup.


About 90% of them picked Sachin. And if you're surprised by that, then I am too.

As the world cup inches closer, the buzz is becoming louder, and louder. That if India has got any hopes of winning this cup, he is the man. That he is the master key, to all the gateways leading to eternal glory.

If there's a budding mathematician out there, here's a question for you: Calculate the weight of expectations on Sachin Tendulkar. Let me know when you're through.

Moving past the crazy math, in a way this really reminds me of Atlas, supporting the entire earth on his shoulders. Can he take it ?

The unfortunate thing, about being one of the best sportsmen in the world, is that no amount of records is enough. People want more, more, and more. An ODI double century. 17000 plus runs. 97 centuries, etc. But ONE failure. Say, in a critical do-or-die situation. ONE off performance. And it's ALL forgotten. Everything.

You might say that, this being his sixth world cup, that being 37 years old, it's all old hat. Used to all this pressure. But every man has a threshold. This might just be his final straw. Things have changed a lot, since the 2003 world cup. They say he's at his best right now. The better his form, the more the expectations, more the weight on his back. Doesn't it sound unfair?

After witnessing 2010, the year of sport-scams, we've seen the very best topple. Yet, somehow, our little master here, has eluded that. A clean sheet. Never slept with the wrong woman, or endorsed the wrong brand.

Yet, a billion hearts beat for him, with him, every time a bowler is making a run-up to deliver to him. It's truly unbelievable how one mortal can affect a country like India, and beyond. Ask him, what is stress.

Sure, I want India to win the world cup, like any other self respecting Indian. But this is what I don't want. I don't want Sachin to take the fall for everything, in case India don't make it. I don't want him to be persecuted, after everything he has done. Countless people feel proud to be an Indian, just because of him.

Dhoni recently quoted, 'We want to win the cup for him.' I can imagine so many captains who would've pinned all hopes on Sachin, and added to that load called India, to his back. But by saying this, he has agreed to share the load. This is exactly why I like Dhoni so much. What a leader.

I'm not hoping him to blast away sixes and fours all over the place. All I wish, is that every Indian should understand, that Sachin Tendulkar is not the nuclear bomb in India's weaponry. He's just the bravest soldier in the infantry.

I hope that, towards the end, he feels proud to have played for India, and continue to be the hero, of  us Indians.