As the curtain falls on an illustrious and legendary career, where almost all hurdles

have been crossed, numerous feats achieved, and most importantly where the
respect and love of a billion people has been gained, Sachin Tendulkar will be etched
in the memory of each and every cricket fan for at least a generation or two. Now, the
achievements and accolades that Sachin has received throughout his career is well
known and documented. The 34,000 odd runs he has scored, the highly revered 100
hundreds, having played in a staggering 200 test matches, becoming the first
batsmen to score a double century in ODIs, the list can go on and on.
Let us look at the mortal Tendulkar and how the reticent young boy grew up to
become the messiah ofIndian Cricket and above all a wonderful human being.
Sachin was born on April 24, 1973 in Bombay, to a middle-class family where he was
the youngest of four children. His father was a professor while his mother worked for
a life insurance company. Incidentally Sachin was named after his familys favorite
music director, Sachin Dev Burman. Young Sachin first desired to be a fast bowler,
which made him undertake trials at Chennai based MRF pace academy, but was
rejected by the head of the Academy, Australian fast bowling legend Dennis Lillee.
Dennis Lillee thought Sachins small stature would prove to be a major hindrance
and rejected him straight away! Thank heavens Dennis thought so! When one hears
of such instances, they will be compelled to believe in something called Destiny. But
the desire of bowing fast remained deep inside Sachin. Sourav Ganguly in one of the
post match analysis during Sachins 200th match, commented that whenever Sachin
was asked to bowl, he would instantly think of bowling seam up, while the team and
Sourav wanted him to bowl the leg spinners!
Thankfully Sachin put behind his desire for fast bowling and pursued batting instead.
As he himself said in his momentous farewell speech, his sister presented him with a
Cricket bat at the age of 11. But, Sachins ability with the bat wasnt recognized
straight away. When Sachins brother Ajit Tendulkar spotted the zest and zeal within
Sachin, he decided to take him to Mr. R. Achrekar, a renowned Cricket coach to
nurture his talent. But as fate would have it Sachin failed to perform in the first go
and Mr. Achrekar sent him back saying he wasnt good enough. Apparently Sachin
was very nervous on that day, which hindered his performance. But his brother Ajit
wasnt giving up so easily. He persuaded Mr. Achrekar to give Sachin another
chance, to which Mr. Achrekar agreed. And the rest as they say is history.

It was also during this crucial phase, that Sachins father told him to freely pursue his
dream. But, with it, he put a word of caution too. He told him to work hard and put in
his sincere effort day in day out and to never take short cuts in life. It has to be said
that Sachins family played a huge role in him being the person he is today. The
values and principles instilled by his father stays with him even today. And as he said
in his farewell speech, he is going to continue following these values and principles
throughout his life. An example for this could be seen when Sachin bowed down in
respect to the pitch at the Wankhede to pay his respects to the 22 yards that has
shaped his life and made him what he is today.
Another example is when Robin Uthappa shared his experience when he was
playing for Mumbai Indians in the first edition of the IPL. Apparently Uthappa was
batting without his helmet on during the final overs of the game (he was sporting his
new hairdo at that time) and when he came back to the dressing room, Sachin had
some harsh words for him, Uthappa revealed that Sachin told him to never take
chances where he could get hurt seriously, which could jeopardize his career and
ultimately it would be disrespectful for the game. Not sure if anybody has observed it,
but Sachin always wore his helmet at all times irrespective of whether he was facing
a fast bowler or a spinner, contrary to todays batsmen who switch into their hats
when spinners come onto bowl. What more can one say about Sachins ethics
towards the game.
Another quality that is striking in Sachin is his humility. When Sachin came onto the
grand stage and when his prominence among the Cricket fans rose, India was going
through a tough phase economically. During this period, Sachin was seen as a
symbol of hope by many Indians that better times lay ahead. His style of play which
was aggressive and inventive resonated with the sports fans. His unassuming nature
off the field is what made him seem humble and down to earth. Even with his
increasing wealth, Sachin showed humility and refused to flaunt his money. As he
himself mentioned in his farewell speech, he had clearly informed his manager that
Cricket always comes first for him. It can also be observed that Sachin never
endorsed any Alcohol or Tobacco brands or for that matter any product or service
that posed a bad precedence to the population at large.
Another quality that is worth mentioning is Sachins calm demeanour during the
course of a match. No matter how much the opposition tried to get on his nerves, he
wouldnt forget what his job was and promptly replied them with his superb Cricketing
skills. Another aspect that needs to be highlighted about Sachin is that he never
misses a chance to play for his Ranji team, Mumbai. When he officially announced

his retirement from Test Cricket, he could have just concentrated on the two test
series against the West Indies, but before that he chose to play for Mumbai against
Haryana in their Ranji trophy tie. And to top it all up, he scored a brilliant 79 in the
second innings and won the game for Mumbai. Most Crickets dont usually think
about playing one last domestic game before they retire from all forms of Cricket, but
this is Sachin!
In the end, when the whole of India stood idle and listened to what may well become
the most popular and revered farewell speeches of all time, when people couldnt
contain their heartfelt emotion and let the tears fall from their eyes, it was not just
because of the records that Sachin holds, not because of the number of runs he has
scored, not because of his 100 hundreds, but because of who Sachin was as a
human being, the values that he stood for, his work ethics which will be remembered
for years to come.
We the cricket fans are going to really miss the humble human being known as
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
Shane Warne
"I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and
belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart
from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar"
Matthew Hayden
"I have seen God, he bats at no. 4 for India"
Mark Taylor
"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin"
Last but not the least, achievements
Muttiah Muralitharan
"There will never be another Sachin Tendulkar"
Oh dude, this list would also continue forever! Let me finish this answer with what you
have read 100s of time, but always felt like reading it again. For the Master Blaster.
"When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks
ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance
Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain
of a world champion Argentina team,Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam. When
Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer
was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown
kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big
country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to "open" the Nehruvian economy.

It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of
this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin
Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have
never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will."

Lessons from his Journey:

Dedication and Commitment.
His hard work at the nets is just an example of how dedicated Sachin Tendulkar is to the game of
cricket. He has in the process not only mastered the techniques of shot making but also has
invented shots which bear his signature. An aspiring speaker should also be dedicated to his art,
he should spend long hours researching, preparing and rehearsing his speeches. He should
become sound in his understanding of the art.
Passion and Drive to Excel.
If he fails at batting, youll see him make up for it in the field. Either hell get some crucial wickets
or take brilliant catches or make extra effort in preventing runs from being scored. If nothing of
this happens, hell be there with a right piece of strategy for the captain. The bottom line is
simple: He has a great passion for the game. And he pushes himself to excel each time he goes
out to play. An aspiring speaker should show great passion for public speaking. He should be
driven by the quest for excellence and never settle for mediocrity.
Enjoying the Game.
As you watch Sachin Tendulkar play, youll never have a feel that he is at work. He is always at
play, enjoying the game. That is perhaps the greatest secret of success. Enjoying what you do in
life. Most speakers look at their given assignments with dread. This is a defeatist attitude.
Instead, if the speaker can learn to enjoy his time on stage, hell come up with better
performances. Hell then engage the audience with some cherished moments of inspiring
integration of words and action; thought and emotion, style and substance.
The Audience Factor.
Sachin Tendulkar will be remembered not just for the volume of runs or the number of centuries
he made. Instead hell be remembered most for the way in which he played the game. How he
entertained, how he mesmerized, how he took the battle to the opposition often single-handedly,
how he wrote poetry with his foot movements, balance, poise and delicate touches with the bat.
In short, he entertained. Aspiring speakers can learn something from him in this regard. It is not
just delivering some words committed to memory that counts, but how you can entertain the
crowd. That is how lively and interesting your presentation was to the audience.
Planning and Pacing the Innings.
None of Sachins great innings happened by chance. Instead it was careful planning and precise
execution of it that helped him achieve success. Life too is an innings that we play. We need to
learn how to pace our innings. There are times to go slow; there are times to accelerate. There

are moments to be still and there are times to cut loose. An aspiring speaker should note that
great speeches have a cadence of their own. There is music and rhythm in it. There is occasional
rise and fall. Sometimes the delivery of the speech sounds like a hurricane; and at other times it
soothes like still soft music. Effective is the man who has learned to keep his performance within
his allotted time.
Raising the Level of the Game.
Great champions need great opposition to bring out the best in them. Sachin Tendulkar is no
exception. His ability to raise the level of his game during demanding situations has often been
proved. When that happens there is a different quality to his game. There is something different,
something that cant be defined, and something that seems out of the ordinary in his game.
Great speakers too raise their level of performance when the mood, the occasion and the
content of their speech demand it of them. Like how Tendulkar makes his batting look so much
easy because he hides his art in it. So also a speaker should lay hold of his art in such a way so
as to make it look so easy. It is at such moments great art is witnessed and heard by the
audience.

Consistency and Perseverance.

Sachin Tendulkar has had his moments of failure. Those moments prove to us beyond doubt that
he is an ordinary human being just like one of us. But what makes him different is his ability to be
patient when his critics cry out for his blood. Instead of speaking he lets his bat do the talking.
And his long and illustrious career has been one long string of achievements that has shut the
mouths of his critics. His averages in both versions of the game are testimony to his consistency
and perseverance. Speakers need to be consistent. They should earn a reputation by
consistently delivering well. At the same time they should also learn to persevere when bad days
come. The secret is to keep on doing what youre good at and maintain the confident belief that if
you had done well in the past you can do better in future.