Fans expect Sachin to convert his 50th birthday into yet another century

The Sachin Tendulkar interview: 'I still don’t feel like i’m 50, a 25-year-old with 25 years of experience sounds better'

The exploits of Sachin Tendulkar on the cricket field, right from his school days when he had a record partnership of 664 with Vinod Kambli, to a World Cup title in his sixth and final appearance at the event, to his farewell Test in November 2013, to scoring a century of centuries in 200 Tests — it’s all been documented prominently.

Rather than reiterate all that again, here’s an open letter to Tendulkar from a journalist who has followed his career closely, who has had a chance to interact with him a few times and who was born the same year — 78 days and several miles apart.

Dear Sachin,

You jokingly said recently in an interaction with select mediapersons at the hallowed Cricket Club of India (CCI): “This is the slowest fifty I have ever scored.” But you know how to convert fifties into hundreds very well, having done so a hundred times at the international level, a record that only another Sachin Tendulkar could emulate. Here’s wishing that you convert this 50 into a sprightly hundred as well.

I have followed your career right from the time you scored a century in your Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup, and Duleep Trophy debuts. I remember you saying in an interview that you were disappointed not to have been selected for the West Indies tour of 1989. This was soon after your maiden Ranji Trophy season and you had not even played the Irani Cup or Duleep Trophy.

You had said then that you were looking forward to playing against the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Ian Bishop, Patrick Patterson, and Courtney Walsh. What stood out from that interview was your confidence as a 16-year-old, ready to face the fearsome West Indian pacers even as some of the world’s batting greats were taking body blows from them. Curious to know how disappointed you were, I got the chance to ask you the same at the screening of your movie ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’ in May 2017. You replied that the then BCCI Chief Selector, the late Raj Singh Dungarpur, Rajbhai to all, wanted you to finish your 10th exams first.

Later, Dungarpur bent the CCI rules to allow you to use the dressing room even before you became a major, and unleashed you against the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis (your fellow debutant), and Abdul Qadir.

The first sighting of you on Doordarshan as a baby-faced teen full of energy and bubbling with enthusiasm, fielding in the deep at Brabourne Stadium in an exhibition match between India XI and Pakistan XI gave one an inkling of your greatness. Many fellow teenagers were jealous of you as you had the privilege of rubbing shoulders with the greats of the game from such an early age.

Watching your exploits and covering some of them as a journalist has been a wonderful journey for me as well. My first Test as a reporter — your 65th for the country — was the magnificent Test against Pakistan in 1999 in the city of my birth, Chennai, which was one of your happy hunting grounds. I also had the privilege of being present at your farewell Test in the city of your birth, Mumbai.

To be appearing in 200 Tests, scoring 100 international centuries, carrying the expectations of the country on your shoulders for a quarter of a century— it’s not easy being Sachin Tendulkar.

You had the backing of the entire nation. The country came to a standstill when you were batting for India, and television sets were switched off the moment you got out. It is said the share markets fluctuated according to the runs you scored.

The nation winced in pain when you were injured, wept with you when your efforts or century went in vain, like against Pakistan in the Chennai Test, heaved a sigh of relief with you when you scored the elusive 100th century in March 2012 in Bangladesh.

Some were furious when you were denied the double century in Multan, but then a few others saw the logic in skipper Rahul Dravid’s timing of the declaration. Very few have impacted the lives of fellow countrymen like you did.

Before you made your debut, there were stories of you wanting to become a pace bowler, having enrolled at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. I too dreamt of becoming a cricketer and wished I could be on the MRF PF bus that was parked at my Besant Nagar neighbourhood in Chennai to pick up the trainees every morning. Had my wish been fulfilled, who knows, we may have been team-mates!

I was an ardent admirer of Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin, and the photo of you flanked by them in Pakistan in 1989, the two greats resting their arms on your shoulders, is something I cannot forget. I began to follow your career so closely that I remembered the sequence of your Test scores, how you were dismissed, by which bowler, and the order of your Test appearances for the first three or four years.

Then the volume of your scores became very large, the number of Tests kept increasing, and it was difficult to remember each one of them. I did not want to clutter my mind with too many numbers and wanted to watch you in action with a free mind, observing and admiring how you played those glorious drives, cuts, and pulls against the best bowlers all over the world.

After following you on television and reading about you in newspapers and magazines, I saw you on the field in person from the press box for the first time in August 1998 in Chennai, where the Indian cricket team had a World Cup preparatory camp under Coach Aunshuman Gaekwad and consultant Bob Simpson, the former Australia Captain.

It was during this camp that you hopped over to Adelaide at the invitation of none other than the legendary Don Bradman for his 90th birthday.

One got to see your human side at that camp from close quarters. You were at fielding practice in front of the Madras Cricket Club members stand one evening, under fading light. Some kids were pestering you for autographs from the boundary line. Without losing your temper at being disturbed, you politely told them that you would oblige all of them after practice was over. And you duly fulfilled your promise. The joy on the faces of the children that evening was immense and you won a few more fans that evening. They also learnt an important lesson – when the Master is at work, do not disturb.

When I relocated to Mumbai with a new job in August 2005, I met you for the first time one morning at the puja ceremony to mark the start of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy nets at Wankhede Stadium. When I introduced myself, the very words that you said still ring in my ears: `‘Of course I know you,’’ you said, and enquired about my family, asking if they have also moved to Mumbai.

Thrilled at the opportunity of getting to meet you more often and knowing you better, I looked forward to every such occasion. I had a chance to interview you a couple of times, as well as attend numerous press conferences during your playing days, and after. Listening to your words of wisdom made me understand you better as a cricketer and a human being.

It is good to see that your son Arjun has imbibed your values, values that you in turn imbibed from your dear father and also your coach Achrekar Sir. You have played cricket the right way, respecting the game,  and the game has returned that respect. I am yet to see anyone say  anything negative about you.

You have truly been a great sportsman: spreading joy and providing great entertainment the world over, giving  opposition bowlers sleepless nights, while earning tremendous goodwill. Simple gestures like inviting members of the media who have been part of your journey before your 50th birthday make you even more special. I consider myself privileged to have been a part of that.

Your legacy will certainly be carried forward by Arjun, who has to bear the weight of unfair expectations because of his surname.

Here’s wishing you a happy 50th again! Thank you for being Sachin Tendulkar.

Best wishes always,

Guru Krishnan