The engaging sporting icon

November 15, 1989. A teenager makes his debut in Test cricket. At 16 years, 205 days, he is the third youngest from any country and the youngest Indian to play in Test matches. It is the opening day of the the first Test match between India and Pakistan at Karachi. Over the first day and a half he puts in a tidy performance in the field as Pakistan total 409. But it is his batting that cricket followers, particularly in India, are waiting to see since he already has the tag of the most exciting talent to come out of the country in many years. On the second afternoon, India are distinctly uncomfortable at 41 for four. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis have taken two wickets each and the teenager is next in line to face the music.

It is an unnerving time for any batsman to come in, let alone a teenager making his Test debut. The batsman plays calmly to score 15 before he is bowled by Waqar. He does not set the Indian nation afire by scoring a century in his first Test innings, like some of his predecessors have done. But even in that short time at the crease, he convinces everyone that, in racing parlance, he is a stayer and not a sprinter. There is something about his defence, his strokeplay and his temparament and a worthy Test career is predicted for the youngster.

No one however could have predicted the kind of career that lay ahead for the teenager. For the batsman in question was Sachin Tendulkar.

In the ten years since, that precocious teenager has grown into a young man who holds the nation spellbound as no other cricketer has done, before or since. But speak of him only in the restricted sense of a cricketer? He equals the popularity of any celebrity from any other seemingly more glamorous field. He has a fan following, the kind of which has not been seen before. On and off the field, his every move is followed with the kind of utmost enthusiasm that borders on religious fervour. Whatever he does is news, whether it is scoring a century or double century, whether it is leading his country to victory, whether it is signing a lucrative sponsorship deal or whether it is having his back treated. When his father passed away in May this year, the internet was jammed with condolence messages from across the world. When his back problem became serious, the entire nation was tense as they waited for news of his progress. The mood rivalled that of the nation praying for Amitabh Bachchan when he was hospitalised after suffering a grevious injury on the sets of `Coolie' in 1982. The nation has had cricketing icons, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev the latest in a long line. But in many ways, there has been no one like Sachin Tendulkar.

The records he has set with the bat are only a forerunner of further records he will break. Certainly Indian cricket has not seen a batsman like Tendulkar. And surely there have not been too many in world cricket too. After all, has Don Bradman said about any other cricketer that ``he bats like I used to.'' And the frightening thing, from the bowler's viewpoint, is that he may still be only halfway through his career. What his final career record is likely to be is too mind boggling to comprehend. Suffice to say that the sky is the limit for Tendulkar.

Success, money, accolades all sit lightly on Tendulkar who remains the perfect model for Indian youth. Well behaved, evenly tempered, not given to emotional outbursts, Tendulkar means more to the country than a mere cricketer. He is a super star in his chosen field, one of the instantly recognizable faces in the country, and a sporting icon for some years now. He is India's sporting ambassador par excellence. The kind of engaging personality with whom anyone would be comfortable with, Tendulkar is the one to lead Indian cricket to great heights. In his own way, he has done more than his bit to inspire a whole generation of future cricketers as any youngster old enough to hold a cricket bat wants to be another Tendulkar. Indeed for many of them, the match is over once Tendulkar is out. Long may he serve the cause and guide the fortunes of Indian cricket in his inimitable dynamic way.