The Autobiography of a Legend: Sachin Tendulkar’s Playing it My Way

If you remain humble, people will give you love and respect even after you have finished with the game. As a parent, I would be happier hearing people say, “Sachin is a good human being” than “Sachin is a great cricketer” any day……….

The autobiography, ‘Sachin Tendulkar: Playing it My Way, My Autobiography,’ was officially released in 2014 for every Indian who wanted to know the life story of Sachin, including detailed phases of his life that include successes, failures, struggles, and many more emotions related to his career and life as a cricketer in India. The narration explains from Sachin’s early life that his inspiration to have a career in sports came when he was ten years old, suggesting a dilemma between choosing cricket and tennis. His initial obsession with tennis was broken when the culture of cricket in India was both overwhelming and impossible to ignore for Sachin. However, the autobiography suggests Sachin aimed for a more challenging, disciplined, and conventional way to channel his childhood energies, especially during his vacations. Aside from getting inspired by the cricketing ability of Sunil Gavaskar (the Indian legend of cricket), Sachin also looked up to his mannerisms, which led him to adopt his typically similar batsman like attributes, despite his preferences for bowling actions. Sachin adopted as a passion by going to practice every morning and evening at Shivaji Park and traveling in between.

Playing It My Way: Emphasizes the struggles, experiences, records, and some memories about Sachin being a cricketer, which also implies the greatness of his persistence and handling different kinds of pressures. This suggests how a middle-class lifestyle in India can be overcome with a certain level of professional exposure and willpower, acting as a medium to inspire being a competent citizen of India. This was depicted as the learning outcome from the autobiography itself, which prompts the reader to think about how once a middleclass, non-English-speaking person was very fluent and adopted the English-speaking culture. Such inspiration was enhanced with the release of this autobiography, as interested students and the public can aim for a character-building aspect following Sachin journey as a typical middle-class individual who adapted to the global community to make, he more recognizable. The elaboration of the typical childhood of Sachin was relatable for any child similar to that age, suggesting aspiration to build a career in the sport without compromising on the responsibilities of the family can be balanced, but only with hard work and persistence to struggle. The aspect of nationalism was proven when he describes his emergence as a typical cricket player in India who neither had the luxury of resources nor was favored by any form of family influence, suggesting an inspirational aspect as he prioritized cricket to represent his country by playing brilliantly and delivering glory for the people and sport.

“There is a common misconception that cricketers’ families have an easy time of it. On the contrary, in my absence Anjali had to do most of the parenting, and bringing up two young kids almost on her own was anything but easy. For the children too it was hard at times. They were not always able to do the things normal kids enjoy and, with their father away for long periods, they missed out on fatherly affection and care.”

The book only focuses on the storyline, his winning mentality, and his dedication to cricket, but he never got out of the professional aspects of the game, as a typical autobiography usually describes different scenarios and recollected memories that impact their personal lives as well. It also describes different injuries he suffered from, especially in the second half of his career, yet he never opened about how he felt about his postcareer relationships and friendships that he still maintains to date. Sachin Tendulkar’s career achievements are truly remarkable, spanning over two decades. Here’s a comprehensive timeline of his major accomplishments:

Early Career (1988-1994)

First Class Debut: Made his first-class debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy at 15 years old (December 1988).

Test Debut: Played his first Test match against Pakistan at Karachi (November 1989).

Maiden Century: Scored his first Test century against England at Old Trafford (August 1990).

 ODI Hundred: Scored his first ODI hundred in his 79th match against Australia (September 1994).

Rise to Prominence (1994 -2001) 10,000 ODI Runs:

Became the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in ODIs (March 2001) 100 Wickets in ODIs: Completed 100 wickets in ODIs (2001)

World Cup Performance: Scored 523 runs in the 1996 World Cup, including two centuries’ Records and Accolades (2001-2010)

Highest Run Scorer in Test Cricket:

Surpassed Brian Lara’s record to become the highest run scorer in Test cricket (October 2008) by 16,000.

ODI Runs: Became the first batsman to score 16,000 runs in ODIs (2008)

Double Century in ODIs: Scored the first ever double century in ODIs against South Africa (February 2010)

ICC Cricketer of the Year: Won the ICC Cricketer of the Year award (2010) Later Career and Retirement (2010-2013)

100 International Centuries: Scored his 100th international century against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup (March 2012) World Cup Victory: Played a key role in India’s World Cup triumph (2011)

Retirement: Announced his retirement from international cricket (November 2013) Records Sachin Tendulkar’s career achievements are truly remarkable.

Here are some of his notable records and awards:

Most International Runs:

34,357 runs across all formats, making him the highest run scorer in international cricket history.

Most Test Runs: 15,921 runs in 200 Test matches, a record that still stands today.

Most ODI Runs: 18,426 runs in 463 ODI matches, the highest by any player in ODI cricket.

100 International Centuries: Tendulkar is the only cricketer to have scored 100 international centuries, including 51 Test centuries and 49 ODI centuries.

Most Man of the Match Awards: 76 awards in international cricket, including 62 in ODIs.

Bharat Ratna: India’s highest civilian award, received in 2014.

Padma Vibhushan: India’s second highest civilian award, received in 2008.

Padma Shri: India’s fourth highest civilian award, received in 1999.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: India’s highest sporting honor, received in 199798.

Wisden Cricketer of the Year: Received in 1997.

ICC Cricketer of the Year: Received in 2010.

ICC Cricket Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2019.

Longest Playing Career: Tendulkar’s international cricketing career spanned 24 years, from 1989 to 2013.

First Player to Score a Double Century in ODIs: Tendulkar achieved this feat against South Africa in 2010.

World Cup Winner: Tendulkar was a key member of the Indian team that won the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. “After giving up the captaincy at the start of 2000, I never captained India again. That is not to say I wasn’t given the choice of captaining the team later in my career. I was offered the job quite a few times but was never tempted.” Sachin Tendulkar’s career is a testament to his dedication, hard work, and passion for cricket. He holds numerous records and has received countless accolades, cementing his status as one of the greatest cricketers of all time. The modern Indian society is heavily facilitated by the sports approach that has been derived by Sachin, and he is regarded to have a consistent impact on the Indian social attributes that eventually creates a special bond of the Indian audiences to that of cricket and specifically with Sachin Tendulkar. The conduct that has been evaluated by Sachin Tendulkar is one of the most loved approaches in the social factors along with his personality and professional skills of playing cricket which has indeed facilitated a consistent and positive impact on the audience and his followers in general. “Looking back at these years of cricket, I must say I owe a lot to my coach Ramakant Achrekar– as well as his assistants, Das Shivalkar and Laxman Chavan. Had it not been for Sir, I would not be the cricketer I turned out to be.” Reading biographies and autobiographies about historical personalities and events can give readers vital insight into the lives and times of significant historical characters and help them comprehend the history and their surroundings on a deeper level. One must be motivated by reading about the struggles and accomplishments that can inspire the readers. Many autobiographies and biographies released on individuals reveal their accomplishments and amazing things in their lives (Roesler, 2020). Reading about other experiences helps readers to relate and comprehend the difficulties and achievements of others and can also help them develop empathy.

India is still at an exploratory stage where the provision of elite sports star development is not convincing enough to sustain a disciplinary and rigorous commitment through sportsmanship. It is due to a lack of passion, a lack of community and family encouragement, the reliability of sports as a career, and a sense of responsibility to aim for higher education and employment. India aims to sustain the right sporting culture in the form of traditional influences, passion, and sentiment for specific sports and the culture of athleticism, which can be traced back to the Vedic era. The current emphasis on elite sports can only be streamlined to a few competitions, sports, and legacies. For example, cricket receives nationwide support due to its implications for legacies, mastery, and revenue streams compared to other prominent sports. The autobiography reminds the audience about the history that Sachin made after his consistent performances during his prime and the mannerisms he adopted as a professional to portray him as a real-life hero for many. The expectations are always high for such legendary figures, especially in such a popular sport that is followed in India without any age bar. Thus, the critical aspects can be undermined here even if they carry the validity of the crucial points made.