Little Master
Today, as social media celebrates Sachin Tendulkar’s 50th birthday, I am reminded of an incident related to Sachin that is more than a decade old.
This was when India won the 2011 ODI World Cup. At that time, Tendulkar was trying to complete a century of centuries in international cricket.
One day my friend’s seven-year-old son asked, ‘How many centuries has Sachin scored in the IPL?’
It was an innocent question, which had neither the shadow of history nor the burden of heritage. I said a bit hesitantly. “…one”. The child wondered, ‘Just one?’
I was definitely surprised at his innocent question but also happy.
This school kid saw Sachin’s brilliant innings in the 2011 World Cup.
Still, he had the same image of Sachin Tendulkar in his eyes, while at that time Sachin Tendulkar was the biggest star of India in the history of cricket.