Confessions of a great cricketer

Hi I’m Sachin Tendulkar. I’m 32 years old and I’m happily married with two beautiful kids. I am a cricketer by profession and have been for the past 16 years. I am extremely fortunate to do something that I love for a living and have earned more than I ever imagined. Of course, it takes a lot out of me and my family that I’m away from them so much. But when you play a sport and represent your country…that takes precedent over anything else right? I have scored almost 24,000 international runs which is more than any other player by a distance. I have scored 72 international centuries and that’s light years more than any other batsman who’s ever played the game. I’m respected by everyone and still rank among the top 10 batsmen bowlers most fear…

I don’t mean to brag about my achievements. These are things I tell myself every time another journalist, ex-cricketer, actor, the paan-bedi shop owner at the corner, or the postman who delivers my mail thinks I should retire or go back to doing what I did at age 24. At age 24, I didn’t have a broken toe, a bad back or an elbow suffering from wear and tear. At age 24 I didn’t have a young family which needed my attention when I was not playing cricket. At age 24, I didn’t have a Sehwag, Dravid or a Ganguly who don’t panic when I’m walking back to the pavilion. I usually had Azharuddin and Jadeja whose commitment to the team ultimately proved to be dubious. People say I don’t win enough matches on my own, like Brian Lara does. With all due respect to Brian Lara, hopefully I won’t end up being on a losing side as much as him. I’ve never had a problem with motivation playing for my country and I’ve never let money get to my head. So why do I always end up on the losing side of an argument about my value to the team?

I usually keep my emotions to myself. I hardly talk to the press and I’m intensely private about my life. But the glare, the criticisms and the unsolicited and useless advice sometimes gets to me. If you’re not a doctor or a physiotherapist, and your name is not Greg Chappell or Saurav Ganguly, please don’t tell me what bat I should use to help my back and elbow, what position I should bat in, how I should be contributing to the team or why my Ferrari and my endorsements should not be distracting me. I love the adulation, respect and awe but 16 years is a long time being in the public eye and the polite façade I put up just slips from time to time. I have 3, maybe 4 years in the game considering the way my body is breaking down. I know my best days are behind me…I’ve accepted it and moved on. Please move on with me…

P.S: I'm not really Sachin Tendulkar.

P.P.S: I'm not a doctor, a physiotherapist and my name is not Greg Chappel or Saurav Gaunguly.

P.P.P.S: I don't give a rat's behind about Sachin's bat, his batting position or his endorsements. I do like his Ferrari though :-).