Away from all the high level of publicity of the retirement, there is a person, who truly loves the game. All that he really wants was to play cricket. The rest of it just followed him. Only reason, he was able to play for this long.
To be frank, I really hated him for the past few years. Though he was not playing upto the mark, was still a part of the team, while the rest were gradually sidelined, including the biggies like Saurav, Rahul , Laxman.
But as the day folded today, and when I read the newspaper headline, 'Bharat Bandh', it had a deep impact on me. It was no lie. Just because, we had him on the crease and for just one time, one couldnt expect anything less. I too wanted to see him bat one full day, one last time. Though all I could manage was just to watch his fifty, and even before I reached office, I realised, it will no longer be able to see him bat again.
There was a feeling of a sudden death, though I least expected it to happen to me. But then it did happen.
The feeling which one had when we left college and to realise, we might never meet some of our closest friends ever. Something similar. But the tenure with this person, was real long. 24 years. I can say, from the time we have started to play cricket, it was him and only him. We left cricket long back. But the shots that we would copy of him, still remains intact. The standing style, with the bat. The way he would collect the ball. Rotating the bat in the hand, before taking the crease.
Though I moved away from playing the game, he playing was thought as if I was still playing. I think most of us were and are thinking of the same. Somewhere today, that me playing the game died.
Over the past few years, it was the other players, who had earned more respect than Sachin. But then today I realised, I never saw myself in them. It was only Sachin.
I had planned to write a lot in this blog, but I think I can save that for another day, and let my thoughts linger in this..
15 Nov 1989 - 15 Nov 2013.
To be frank, I really hated him for the past few years. Though he was not playing upto the mark, was still a part of the team, while the rest were gradually sidelined, including the biggies like Saurav, Rahul , Laxman.
But as the day folded today, and when I read the newspaper headline, 'Bharat Bandh', it had a deep impact on me. It was no lie. Just because, we had him on the crease and for just one time, one couldnt expect anything less. I too wanted to see him bat one full day, one last time. Though all I could manage was just to watch his fifty, and even before I reached office, I realised, it will no longer be able to see him bat again.
There was a feeling of a sudden death, though I least expected it to happen to me. But then it did happen.
The feeling which one had when we left college and to realise, we might never meet some of our closest friends ever. Something similar. But the tenure with this person, was real long. 24 years. I can say, from the time we have started to play cricket, it was him and only him. We left cricket long back. But the shots that we would copy of him, still remains intact. The standing style, with the bat. The way he would collect the ball. Rotating the bat in the hand, before taking the crease.
Though I moved away from playing the game, he playing was thought as if I was still playing. I think most of us were and are thinking of the same. Somewhere today, that me playing the game died.
Over the past few years, it was the other players, who had earned more respect than Sachin. But then today I realised, I never saw myself in them. It was only Sachin.
I had planned to write a lot in this blog, but I think I can save that for another day, and let my thoughts linger in this..
15 Nov 1989 - 15 Nov 2013.
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