Tendulkar and Cricket

"The greatest Indian alive!"

Thus did India's greatest left arm bowler of any kind acclaim Sachin Tendulkar. This will be among the many notable comments and events from 20 illustrious years that we will relive this November. All his great innings; his near solitary championing of India's cause through most of the 90's, to his role as a wise elder in Dhoni's current side; his stunning equanimity in the face of fearsome pressures and expectations on and off the field; his seemingly unquenchable enthusiasm even at age 36. We will hear profound and beautiful words about each of these. From his precocious 114 at Perth in 1992, to his brilliant 169 at Cape Town in 1996, to his heroic 136 at Chennai in 1999, to his scholarly 241 at Sydney in 2004, to his triumphant 103 at Chennai in 2008, there is much to relive and celebrate. I have not even begun to mention his unrivaled mastery of the limited overs game. In the company of his great friends and fellow champions like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman to name just a few, he has scripted a successful era for the game of Cricket in India, both on and off the field.

And yet all these achievements are but symptoms - far from inevitable ones, but mere symptoms nevertheless, of something much deeper. Has there been a more epic romance in Indian life in the last 20 years than the one Tendulkar enjoys with his beloved sport? It is this deep love affair, which i think underlies the runs, the results, the astonishing calm and patience, the completeness of his game. Sachin Tendulkar's very being has been completed by this game. Others have loved Cricket, but Tendulkar has claimed greater requital than anyone else. George Washington Carver* once wrote that "Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough". Tendulkar shares deeper secrets with the game of cricket than most of us will ever know.

What we have seen for twenty years are merely the runs. When Tendulkar decides to stop facing up for India the runs will stop. But the romance will doubtless continue. There will be others who may court this magical game in the future, but will the game be the same when the man leaves?

Until then, watch as carefully and quietly as you can. You may just hear a few whispered words, and not just the crack of wood on leather.

*The quote is from George Washington Carver, a famous African-American botanist, who was once dubbed a "Black Leonardo" by Time Magazine, and not from George Washington the President.