In a long 24 year journey everything changes. For Sachin Tendulkar things have been no different. He started out as a marauding 16 year old who wished to tame every bowler he faced. He wasn't afraid to launch into the legendary Sir Richard Hadlee in 1989 when he faced him in New Zealand. And this had come at the back of his assault on Abdul Qadir in Pakistan in his debut series in 1989.
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The Qadir story goes thus. The match, a 50 over ODI, had been curtailed to a 20-20 because of rain. With a huge crowd waiting patiently for action, the organisers had little choice but to reduce it to a 20 over a side game. The match was played in full seriousness and Pakistan scored a healthy 157 in their 20 overs. India, in reply, had lost a flurry of wickets to start with and when Tendulkar walked in to join his captain K Srikkanth the asking rate was touching 13 runs per over.
The match was all but lost. Srikkanth asked the young man to get some valuable batting practice and much to his surprise was told that Sachin was still keen on trying to win the match for India. The captain consented resulting in the start of the Tendulkar show.
He soon hit Mushtaq Ahmed for a couple of sixes and announced his intent loud and clear. At this the great Qadir is said to have walked up to him and said "bachhe ko kyun mar rahe ho. Agar dum hai toh mujhe mar ke dikhao." Sachin, forever respectful, had responded saying Qadir was a genius and wouldn't allow Sachin to get after his bowling.
What followed was mayhem. Qadir was literally toyed with and Sachin hit him for 4 sixes in an over. Qadir, a true sportsman, came up to him post match to congratulate him on his performance and has gone on record to say that he realised that day itself that this man possessed special talent.
That was the time people started asking Sachin for his autograph. Not used to signing autographs, Sachin happily obliged to kick start a process that has only gathered momentum over time. However, the first autographs he signed have little resemblance with his signature of today and unless you know him well enough you will tend to disbelieve that these are the signatures of one man. Hasnain Masood, an avid Sachin collector and one who has more than 70 of his signatures all through his career, has preserved this treasure from 1989 as part of his collection.
Hasnain now wants a certificate of provenance to prove that this is an original signature of the maestro. Just like his batting, which matured over time, his signature too changed quite dramatically. For the true memorabilia collector, the earliest signature has tremendous value. It is a piece of cricket history that will now have a special place in any cricket collection in the world.
While everything about Sachin has changed, there has been one constant — his modesty and humility. More than his talent and his achievements on the cricket field it is his modesty that endears him to millions across the globe. Inherited from his father Ramesh Tendulkar, Sachin has not changed a tiny bit over the years in this respect.
One example will demonstrate the point well. When India toured down under in 2011-12 it was extremely hot in Melbourne. With temperatures hovering around the 40 degree mark, it was really tough on the players.
After a rigorous practice session, Sachin, fully drenched, stayed back to sign close to 50 autographs when all his teammates had made it back to the comfort of the air conditioned coach.
When I asked him why he did so this is what he had to say, "If a signature of mine brings a smile on someone's face I should consider myself lucky. I'd much rather bear the heat for a little more time than see someone who has been waiting patiently for three hours go home disheartened."
That's the Tendulkar we love so much and that's the Tendulkar we will miss.
TofI