If and Sachin

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

The World Cup 2007 was perhaps the biggest disaster India had been to. Starting as some sort of favourites - it ended a dream. Sachin himself got out to a ugly posture crouching as his stumps lay dismantled. The blame game had begun with doubts on Tendulkar's future, a noise created on his 'waning reflexes and skills'. It was the time for 'Endulkar' and Manjrekarian opinions to rear up their head. Guru Greg chose to absolve himself of all blame for the debacle and lay it firmly on the team's shoulders - even pointing fingers at Sachin. Sach meanwhile quietly made his protest known and got back to doing what he does best - play cricket

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

There was a phase when Sachin would play not like the old himself - not the ravaging genius - but more a seasoned statesman. Not going for those lofted shots but for those nudges that would get the singles. Scoring effectively and doing what the team needed. And then hear people whisper - He isnt himself these days. He must Retire. Yet to win the Man of the Match award and announce to the world that he alone knew his game and what he was doing, it was fine to compare this to his old self but he would play as he chose not the way his 'fans' demanded.

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

And that phase when he traded his big shots and domination for percentage cricket and maybe to an extent chose to let the sheen dim off a little, letting himself be deemed mortal - when he took hits on the body on that England tour to keep playing for a country needed him to be there. Or when he chose to play a full inning of 241* without once falling to the temptation of the off side drive. When he believed that he could look ugly, could let his shine dim because in the end it was all for a larger cause - a team getting a gritty middle order batsman who was up for a scrap even if not beautiful.

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

As a kid - taken by his brother for coaching with Ramakant Achrekar. To sacrifice his education to follow a dream to play cricket. To play and practice till he was tired. To proclaim to the world that all he wanted to do was play cricket for India. And to do that more successfully than anyone else and then when that dream was achieved, to change the dream to play for India as long as possible and keep achieving that with the mischeivious enthusiasm of a 16 year old.

If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

The equanimity with which he accepts both accolades and criticism - to have the grace to smile and say that in a long journey, you get stones thrown at you - you simply convert them to milestones. To accept the pain of seeing a masterful 136 in Chennai go waste only to come back there years later and hit another masterful 103* to seal a win. To see 175 of his best get wasted by a bat not grounded but to come back and non-chalantly score 200* and then have the humility to simply raise his arms and dedicate it to a nation of adoring fans.


If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

To play like no one ever has in a WC, to hit the fastest bowler out of the attack - to take the team to the finals and then fail in the finals chasing a mountain. But to have gumption enough to fail in another edition and still be determined to come back and claim what should have been rightfully his. And then start playing again better than ever before - with a consistency that mortals will only dream off. To have the critics who wrote him off , lineup yet again to praise him AND for Sachin to be unaffected by either reaction

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

To be 37 in a game of youngsters, to have played for 20 long years and show no sign of tiring. To carry on for what can be nothing but sheer love of the game. To outdo oneself for others were left gasping for breath way behind. To have a host of youngsters wishing that they could be a third of his brilliance and yet outlive the careers of those who idolised him.

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

Humility is an hallmark that has been true through his career - whether in form or out of it. Whether it was the time when he signed multi million deals or when he was booed at the Wankhede. When he accepted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or when he was out for 4 in the WC finals. When he hit his 200 or when he had to read the prophets of doom attempting to push him out of the team.

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

For 20 years of outstanding sportsmanship, unparalleled batting, unquenchable thirst for the game. For being the game's greatest idol and its greatest worshipper. For taking us to places we never imagined. For fulfilling our repressed dreams - for making India dream. For being the impeccable role-model we all looked upto - in the days of Tigers. For being the man for whom the earth awaits! Thank you Sir!


The poem is 'If' by Rudyard Kipling. If only he knew how that he was predicting Sachin Tendulkar's career when he wrote it.