It was some time in December 1989 when I was just 6 months old, that a man named Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar marked his entry into the cricketing world against a mighty Pakistan Team. A little boy with a soft voice, hesitant mind, less aggression but tonnes of confidence; had a pretty rough patch in the first 2 matches. It was only in the third match that he opened his account. He  got his first one day international century after playing 78 matches and five years of international cricket. It was in the late 90’s that he scored his first century at Old Trafford against England. And for the next 22 years he reached that milestone a 100 times only to be compared to god.

Sachin was in his majestic form in Sharjah when he gave the Aussies a run for their money for what was called the century of the millennium. It was later named as “The Sandstorm Century’ which is still one of the best in the business. He changed the perception of people towards cricket. Till then India was a team, and after 1998, Sachin Tendulkar was the only man for whom the opponents prepared a game-plan. The 2 innings in the CB series finals which included a century (his first in Australia) were termed as instrumental in launching wins overseas. Then came the double century in a time when the chants of ‘Endulkar’ often covered most of the newspapers and the electronic media. That was the moment when the prophets of doomsday had to take bitter pills of stopping his career. He had achieved every record available in the cricket books. But then his inner instinct allowed him to carry on and on which eventually led to a century of centuries. Sir Donald Bradman was laughing somewhere in the heavens with the talent Sachin was bestowed with, almost all the people across the globe showered their blessings which only led to the longevity.

Everything has an end to it, but his fans believed in his inhuman capabilities and wanted him to go on and on. Every time he failed to score a ton, he was criticized of his age and flexibility. Perhaps they wanted him to score a ton or even more every time he stepped on to the field, scores like 70-80 had lost their significance. He finally decided to hang his boots from the colored format of the game. The man who came into the limelight with the colored jersey was now a piece of history, people had the glimmer of a hope of him appearing for one last farewell match, but then, when legends decide you have no words to say. So, with the Aussie series coming up and with loads of runs in his short domestic stint, the expectations are yet again high for what may be the last series if he fails to perform and live up to the expectations. With no test series coming anytime after 6months, the question still dangles, if this would be his last outing. He has done it in the past, and a billion eyeballs await yet another moment of him removing his helmet and raise the bat up in air to extend the validity of his extraordinary career. You have been the role model of millions like me. Thank you for adding some spice and excitement to all the fans like me.