An open letter to Sachin

Dear Sachin

It is my first letter to you in 22 years that I have known you and needless that I say you keep fascinating me. Its not only because you are a great player, but also a great athlete. Its hard for me to imagine any athlete being on top (or at the very least near the top) for so long. 22 years by far is very long. To me the 22 years holds far more value than 33207 runs (as off 15 November 2011) that you have scored and which very nicely brings me to the main subject of the letter your hundredth century.

Your hundredth century will come and there is nothing stopping it. There is a lot of media chats or  politely speaking bitching going on regarding. Topics like “the hundredth 100 is getting better of Sachin”, “Do tell Tendulkar how it is done” etc etc. While I am sure that you are not affected by this but because you are still a mortal human being, a part of me thinks that it might be true.

Let me divert you from this topic. A good few years ago I wanted pass my driving test here in UK. UK driving test is possibly the most difficult to pass and possibly very expensive. I failed the first time (it was my bad luck as I sincerely thought I did nothing wrong). The desperation to pass on my second attempt and the possibility of losing another good chunk of money made me so nervous that I made a mess of my test. Even before the driving instructor told me that I had not passed, I had failed myself. I deliberately allowed myself to be nervous. This was a lesson to me. On my third attempt I went with a clear mind and told myself that if I fail again I will pay again and go for it again. The pain of losing money was no longer in that feeling. On my third attempt I passed.

The reason I am telling this to you is self-explanatory. Dear Sachin you will get your hundred. Go and bat with an attitude “Aaj nahi, kal sahi”.

Eagerly looking forward to your 100.

Warm regards
Gautham