April 2011. It was the world cup final against SL. All we had were a team of 10 players, ONE GOD and a billion prayers. And there, we won the world cup. A memorable one. Yes. It was. It really was to every Sachin fan especially.
Retirement is never easy. Not for anyone who has done something for decades. Be it a clerk at a government organization or a corporate employee, retirement is never an easy entity in life to digest so easily. It’s not just about the paycheck that you get at the end of the month. It’s something more. And something that is so painful.
I can sense the amount of heaviness in your heart, Sachin.
You don’t just retire from this game/sport called CRICKET; you retire from a mammoth portion of something that has occupied and took the most of you and your very living for the past 24 years. The morning alarms won’t mean any training sessions anymore. The fun of the team bus and the happenings of the dressing room will become memories in a jiffy. The Indian squad without your name on it will take enough time of yours to digest and get used to not seeing it. It will be hard for you to sit back to watch every single match that India plays without you and those vulnerable moments when you might feel that your presence right there could have made some changes but you just cant help anymore except to sit and watch.
And FINALLY, not walking onto the field anymore with the entire crowd of 15k people at the stadium and trillions of fans all around the world roaring & chanting your name (Sachinnnn..........Sachinnnn........ sACHINNNN... Sachinnnn...) contemplating you as their GOD who can erupt the adrenaline rush as they see you walk down to bat with your weapon every single time whether you score or not. And every fan from every corner of this world, shouting at the top of the voice when you punish the bowlers at boundaries.
Sachin – You have not just lived your dream for the past 24 years. You have carried the dreams of a billion people every time you walk onto the field to bat. Time might stop you from playing. But there will be generations that will speak about you as one of the greatest sportsmen ever lived. EVER. Your weapon becomes BAT now. Yes. The weapon that has punished so many bowlers mercilessly becomes a BAT now. Dear master, someday when you feel so down missing the game, just look at your bat and you can hear the echo of billions of fans still shouting your name on that.
Thanks You, Sachin. Thank you so much for the wonderful memories you have given me. You mean a lot to me. And I don’t know what I can give you in return for all those precious moments, when you ran for 24 years carrying the nation on your shoulders. You might be 40 today, but to us you remain as the same 17 year old kid who has faced some top class bowlers like Waqar, Marshall, Akram, Mcgrath, Warne, Lee, Walsh, Amborse etc. The same old kid who has shared the pitch space from the days of Kapil Dev and now till Pujara.
Oh, my. .. They way you run between the wickets with your 1.5 kg bat, Goshh.. is there another man on this planet who can do this??? I’m gonna miss that big time.
Sachin, may God give you all good health to you & your family and keep you happy.
So, no more bunking classes or offices, No more crowd standing outside the streets watching you play, no more life, no more CRICKET & no more Sachin.
And now critics can search for a new job. They will be jobless.
Lastly, A game called CRICKET retires from SPORTS. Now, it’s a period for the word GOD in cricket.
Love you Sachin. Love you so much.
Mahesh Pallavoor
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