Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Well played, Sachin!!!!' that was published in Newsband

Well played, Sachin!!!!

Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to retire after his 200th Test match, scheduled against West Indies in mid-November, brings to a close a career like no other. Save for Don Bradman there hasn’t been a phenomenon like Tendulkar.

One could see the greatness of this man when as a 16-year-old he was sent to Pakistan to face the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Abdul Quadir and Waqar Younis and he did a great job.

Sachin is undoubtedly cricket’s biggest icon. He worked really hard to hone natural talent. He was always concerned about his image as a batsman. He did what great champions do. He challenged popular perception.

His journey from a 16 year old wonder boy, who quickly impressed his opponents and his fans on his debut against Pakistan to a true legend at the age of 40 is the most interesting true story.  

For many years, he single-handedly fostered the team and the nation with his phenomenal performances and entertained the sports fans with his batting prowess.

Whenever he played in England, the BBC commentators would run out of adjectives in admiring this boy wonder.

Sachin leaves the cricket arena that he dominated for nearly quarter century. He took the game of cricket to another level and his commitment and determination are lessons for the younger generations

to follow.

Apart from being a top sports person, what sets Sachin as great in comparison to the rest is "he is good as a person, with good moral and ethical values, with a clear idea of good vs evil, and strong belief in choosing good over the evil". These make Sachin a truly great role model for every youngster, especially at the times when our society is getting into cancer like growth of evil things like cheating, scams and bad morals. These bad things are widely becoming accepted norms in our society. We need more and more Sachins from our society to guide and inspire our next generation youngsters.

He remained humble and sensible in spite of being subjected to so much adulation, flattery and sycophancy and criticism. Tendulkar is very much a Legend. He played all along his life with dignity and his sheer presence on the cricket ground frightened the opposition. Yes it would be true that imagining cricket without the master would be hard. His talents, dedication, hard work, never to say die attitude made him certain warrior in this game of uncertainties. He can never be forgotten

till the end of this great game. His first Avatar has ended but new one as a Rajyasbha member (MP) will make him field for welfare of common people who have to run here and there for securing their fundamental rights.

Sachin’s retirement is sure to create a void in the Indian cricket team. While he remains an inspiration - his retirement will provide opportunity to the new would be legends. Well played, Sachin!!!!