Sachin Tendulkar dreaming of winning T20 World Cup or Fifty50 world cup
Isn't it hard to believe that Sachin Tendulkar turned 37 on 24th April? Somehow, it seems that only yesterday he began his international cricketing career but we have to remind ourselves that it was in Pakistan where he started way back in November 1989.
We cannot forget the picture of the curly haired 16-year-old who seemed to enamor everybody with his performance. We can actually compare him to the evergreen Dev Anand of the silver screen. He seems to just go on and on. Quite a number of times he has spoken about his dream of being a part of the World Cup winning team, so actually we are all waiting for this dream performance.
He gets the chance to play World Cup next year and let’s see if he is able to fulfill his dream or not. While intelligence tells us that he will drift into the sunset following that Fifty50 tournament whether India wins or not. But still we will not be taken by shock if he is still around to play for the country in the 2015 World Cup. Even though he will be forty two by that time, but age is merely a number after all for cricketers like him.
Watching him play the game so wonderfully makes it difficult to believe that he is one of the senior most cricketers in the game today. Whether batting or bowling, whether leading the side or sending down his intermittent cocktail of leg breaks and off breaks, he plays like any youngster around. His zeal for the game is endless. Time and age have no bearing on his enthusiasm and hunger for winning.
He is just like good wine which is getting better with age. Moreover, this enthusiasm and devotion for the game is simply infectious. Due to his transferred zeal the players responded positively and as a result the Mumbai Indians reached the finals even when it was not essentially the strongest among the eight teams playing in the tournament. Had the team won on Sunday it would have been the perfect birthday present for Tendulkar.
Being a living legend has its own pros and cons. Nothing but the best is what all want out from you and they want it all the time. But, Tendulkar has lived up to the hopes and aspirations which the loving people of his country had put upon him.
Initially it was said that Twenty20 is a young man's game but Sachin has proved everyone wrong with his awe-inspiring skills. He has demonstrated that crickets' newest and shortest format is not just about making quick runs and there is always a place for good strokes in a match that are a mixture of timing and placement.
He has based his game on playing cricketing shots and the results are there for everyone to applaud. He is the top most run getter in the IPL and has a remarkable strike rate to boast about. No doubt, everyone wants his inclusion in the Twenty20 World Cup. Majority of fans believe if Sachin Tendulkar was in T20 World Cup the results would have been different and India would have been in a different position right now.
However, he made it clear three years ago that he wasn't going to play Twenty20 internationals and such is the respect for his views that the campaign for his inclusion soon petered out.
I have never seen the experienced spectators in such a predicament as they were during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians last week. They wanted their team to succeed which was absolutely natural, but they also desired Tendulkar to make it.
It reminded me of a quandary that Neville Cardus found himself almost hundred years ago when as a schoolboy he wanted England to win but he also wanted his hero Victor Trumper to score a hundred. That is what Tendulkar means for the country. He commands natural admiration from every nook and corner of the country.
It is not easy to uphold a clean image in a game which is synonymous with controversies and even scams. It is not a child’s play to sustain one's popularity for 20 years and continue to be victorious in all formats of the game for such a long period of time. But Sachin has gone against the tide and done it all. Will there ever be another Sachin Tendulkar; only time will tell but it is hard to imagine.
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