End of Sachin Tendulkar

Flashback: In sharjah against Australia 1997-98 Tendulkar hits 143 against the Aussies giving Warne nightmares. During that amazing innings one of the many times Tendulkar danced down the tracks and thrashed every bowler around him, I just froze with wonder at the amazing sight of perfection with elegance, beauty par excellence, drowning in the flood of unbridled joy, a single tear drop crept down my cheek, creating a calming silence unaware of the high decibel levels created by friends watching the game in the same room.

Forward 10 years to Present: In South Africa 3rd test Test Tendulkar hits 14 rugged runs in 62 balls. During this innings I am sitting on a chair, slowly lying down then getting into a comforter and trying to fall asleep to get way from this misery of having to see ball after ball deadpanned. Even though it is way late into the night, I am not able to sleep not b’coz the game is not boring enough, but b’coz of the frustration creeping through my head reaching to a height of full-fledged irritation encompassing every atomic unit of my human body. The dead bat of Sachin giving even the weakest bowler an elated feeling of being the most threatening!!!

Even recently Shane Warne said it is better to retire when somebody asks why are you instead of when somebody asks why don’t you…

Especially when an outcast like Ganguly has to come in your support to say everyone goes through this decline in this form of game…..Sachin you don’t need this…U want people to remember you the way you were years ago giving the bowlers and audience sleepless nights of joy and not sleepless nights of frustration! And if you have any intention of repeating one of these boring innings you may as well bid good-bye to the game so that we may remember you as a master blaster and not a master grafter…

Final piece of advice to sachin…Stay away from the blind fans of yours and try watching you own innings (14 of 62) at 4.00 a.m. in the morning staying awake and make your own judgement!!!!