Sachin stands at the pinnacle of cricket

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar the name needs no introduction, the man who has given India many reasons to smile. There was a time during the economic depression in 90s that a teenager was smashing the Aussie attack all across the park and giving millions of demoralised Indians a reason to cheer about. It is highly ironical that the day he broke the world record for the maximum number of Test runs the stock markets came crashing down.

From being the most adorable teenagers in the country to becoming the greatest ambassador of the game Tendilya as he is fondly called by his mates has seen it all. Its not easy to survive in the international sports arena for two decades and certainly not when it comes to Indian cricket. A billion hopes and aspirations which end with his dismissal certainly puts him under a lot of pressure. But perhaps that is what separates a good sportsman from a legend.

Critics have always argued that Sachin has not been able to steer India to wins. True to a certain extent but time and again we have seen how India has won when he has played well. It goes to show his scores are not just a statistical boost to the team but a psychological too. The aura that surrounds him in the dressing room is too hard to replace. His greatest critics have accepted that Sachin has evolved as a cricketer over the years which has helped him survive this long in both versions of the game.

The Master Blaster has been a institution in himself when it comes to the game. True nobody is bigger than the game but certain individuals take the game to greater heights and Sachin has been one of them. For most part of the 90s he carried the burden of Indian batting order and the Indian team was considered 'Sachin and ten others'. Its only in the later stages of his career he had the liberty of playing freely after Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid joined the ranks.

Some of his best performance has come against the world champions Australia which goes to show he is at his best against the champions. Be it scoring a resilient 248 against the Australians in Sydney or single-handedly taking Indians to the jaws of victory in the Chennai Test against Pakistan Sachin has done it time and again. Who can forget the back to back centuries in Shahrjah or the 98 against Pakistan during the 2003 World Cup.

The greatest thing for Sachin is perhaps the dignity with which he has played the game. Apart from the ball tempering controversy in South Africa where English match referee Mike Dennis fallaciously charged him, Sachin has never had his name in the headlines for any wrong reasons. Perhaps the biggest testimony to the respect he commands came during India's last tour Down Under where there was too much of bad vibes in both the camps but Sachin received a standing ovation when he walked out to bat in Sydney.

In the winter of his career Sachin and many senior pros in the team are being treated badly by the board and the fans. People asking him to hang up his boots have not even scored as much runs in street cricket as he has done in Test cricket. The Master Blaster will know when is the best time for him to leave behind the Indian jersey and will not delay it a moment longer. He will play till the day he enjoys playing the game. So as far as calling it a day is concerned lets leave it to the Master himself.