Sachin continues to inspire us post-retirement

by Rex Clementine

Such was the grace with which Sachin Tendulkar played his cricket, he had fans everywhere. Throughout his career – that stretched for an extraordinary 24 years and 200 Test matches – you never heard of an altercation with a teammate, not a single reported affair, never a drunken episode or a fight with an official. Despite all the riches and accolades, despite rubbing shoulders with Ambanis and Lord McLaurins, he remained grounded.

Sachin was always magnanimous in victory and gracious in defeat. Mid 1990s was a period where Sri Lanka had the wood over India. An experienced batting line-up, a super fit team and brilliance on the field were aspects that enabled Sri Lanka to make India eat humble pie. Unfortunately, Sachin happened to be the captain of India.

One such occasion was the RPS Test in 1997 where Sri Lanka piled up a mammoth 952 for six. Sanath Jayasuriya had gone on to make a stunning 340. Hence, Sri Lanka had a triple centurion in Test match cricket before India had one. India by the way had been playing Test cricket since 1932. Sri Lanka joined the big league only in 1982.

At the post-match presentation Tendulkar declared, ‘I haven’t seen Don Bradman, but I have seen Sanath Jayasuriya,’ the crowd were over the moon. The applause went on for a few minutes.

On another occasion, when Sri Lanka had chased down India’s target in the Asia Cup final with plenty to spare, Ravi Shastri at the post-match presentation asked the Indian captain what was a safe total against Sri Lanka. Sachin looked around and admitted, ‘Maybe 1000.’

There’s no better feeling in sports than to beat the big brother. Such big compliments from the Indian captain were like music to the ear.

Sachin was in Sri Lanka this week overseeing the UNICEF Programme that takes care of the nutrition of children in rural areas.

UNICEF has undertaken a project where some 146 pre-school children in the Sabaragamuwa province are provided with meals. Across the country, this programme stretches to 1400 pre-schools and over 50,000 children have benefited. The meal programme has helped boost the attendance of children at pre-schools.

Sachin was seen visiting these pre-schools and distributing food. He also distributed sports goods for some schools in the region that are struggling to make ends meet. He played bit of cricket – batting left-handed – and entertained us all. How he remains so grounded God only knows. If the Vatican ever wishes to have a patron saint for cricket – Sachin Tendulkar won’t be a bad idea.

These have been tough times for the nation. The Easter bombings crippled the economy with tourists abandoning us and choosing other destinations. COVID created further havoc and then came the economic crisis with prices of food items skyrocketing.

Good on UNICEF for picking out the most vulnerable areas of the country and supporting the most vulnerable age group – the children. Good on Sachin too for he has inspired more wealthy sportsmen to help the needy.