Sachin Tendulkar turns 33; and the legend continues

It's not so easy to make sense of Sachin. God's master-strokes are no mean craft for mere mortals.

One can probably think of brainwashing all the cricket fans on earth, but that's not enough to erase the legend of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

It's been 17 long years since the man first set foot on the international stage. And for a man who has spent more than half his life on the cricket field, it will be agonising not to be in the thick of things.

Tendulkar's 33rd may not be his most memorable birthday for sure. Not only has he been down with a major injury, he finds himself amid sharp criticism.

His best birthday to date must have been his 24th, when he scored back-to-back centuries against Australia in 1998 at Sharjah.

He was the highest run getter in the 1996 World Cup, but those 523 runs were not enough for critics who still said he couldn’t win matches.

The two centuries, one to propel India to the final and the second, on his birthday, to beat Australia in the Sharjah Cup did manage to shut their mouths for a while. But not for long.
His injury-ridden 136 against Pakistan in Chennai in 1998-99, which cricketing pundits hail as his best knock ever, unfortunately wasn’t enough for the team to win the match.

And there began another assault, this time suggesting he can’t win Test matches. But didn’t the rest of the side score less than half of what he did?

Not many cricketers have survived three career-threatening injuries, besides three minor ones. From a broken back to a tennis elbow to the current one on his shoulder, Sachin has been through it all.

There is another significant achievement that escapes most people's attention. That he has been a member of the Indian side in its darkest era and also a member during its years of glory is itself an achievement of sorts.

It's ridiculous to see a cricketer of his stature, a veteran of 35 Test and 39 ODI centuries, still learning the game 17 years on.

It is perhaps not possible for him to play the game with as much freedom as he used to years ago, but to match those levels of brilliance with curbed instincts, even better.

And as ever, his return to the pitch will only lower the raised eyebrows.