Sachin Tendulkar has finally arrived on Twitter quietly and surreptitiously. Most people might have thought initially that it was a fake but now with Twitter verifying the account along with over hundred thousand followers in 24 hours. Its official that Tendulkar is now on Twitter and now his die hard crazy fans will get to follow their idol’s life.
But Tendulkar is not the only cricketer on Twitter. There are quite a few. Some of them are fakes and some profiles are not being updated regularly so I will leave them out. But here is a list of all cricketers that you can find on Twitter.
Just click on any of the names and you will be taken to their Twitter profile page.
I am sure there are many others but I could not verify as I mentioned some accounts were too inactive to be really sure. Do follow these on field greats and also please do let me know if there are any other cricketers with Twitter profiles!
Mumbai Indians were playing Bangalore Royal Challengers in the first semi final of IPL. I am sure Bangalore were hurting that the semi finals which were supposed to be hosted in Bangalore were rescheduled to be played in Mumbai for security reasons.
RCB started quite well with getting quick wickets of Tendulkar, Dhawan and Nayar. But the middle order which was considered to be Mumbai Indian’s problem area rose to the occasion. Keiron Pollard the giant from Trinidad and Tobago hammered his way through the Bangalore bowling to score 33 runs of 12 balls.
RCB started the chase well but fell flat towards then end after the first 9 overs. Mumbai Indians probably have the best attack of the tournament and chasing 184 under pressure was a little too much for them.
I think today Royal Challengers were royally beaten by a very good side who have won 10 games in the league phase.
Sachin Tendulkar injured!
Sachin Tendulkar still the highest run scorer for Mumbai Indians hurt himself by having the webbing of his hand get split while attempting a catch of Rahul Dravid. Split webbings usually are not very major injury but can be quite a problem for a batsman to grip the bat properly. Being a Mumbai Indians supporter and Sachin Tendulkar fan I hope five stitches do not trouble the great man on 25th of April playing the IPL final.
Mumbai Indians have also secured their place from Champions League.
In Greek mythology a Titan is someone who is a giant. Giant not by size but by deeds who would their rule their domain with absolute power. The two titans Atlas and Hercules are legends of the mythical world. Hercules for beating the odds all alone with just his strength and wit along with Atlas who literally carries the world on his shoulders. Truly if the game of cricket was mythology then Sachin Tendulkar is a Titan.
Sachin Tendulkar’s shoulder carry no less of a burden and he has often single handedly taken on odds we cannot imagine or identify with. But today in his 442nd One Dayer, with his 17,598th run and a good 100 runs after he had scored his 46th century, the little master that Tendulkar is, scored the first double century ever scored in international limited overs cricket.
He now owns the world record for most runs scored ever, most centuries ever and also the highest individual score ever. In both formats of the game Tendulkar his at the top and by miles. No player has dominated both forms in such absolute terms. At 36, Tendulkar is still breaking barriers and showing living up to the adage that ‘Class indeed is permanent’.
At the time of writing this post Indian bowlers have responded well and joined the Tendulkar party by reducing South Africa to 151/7. Most people who love cricket be they Indian or not will agree that if someone deserved to break the 200 barrier in ODI’s it was Sachin Tendulkar. If you want to watch the moment he scored a double hundred click here.
Tendulkar is towards the end of his career and when he retires his myth will live on. I say myth because his achievements are truly unreal and mythical. He is no celebrity but a hero. A mythical hero whose very name is enough to inspire future cricketers to awesomeness.
When Tendulkar walked out to bat in a Test match for the first time, Rajiv Gandhi was India’s Prime Minister, the Berlin wall stood and USSR still existed. The internet was nascent, mobiles phones were hardly used in US and never used in India. Most of us reading this article were probably less than 10 years old. The world has changed dramatically but Tendulkar remains the best in the world.
Tendulkar completed 20 years of international cricket on 15th November 2009. Out of the 21 men who played in his first test match he played in, all of them have retired over 5 years ago.
His technique, determination, brilliance, ability and talent all have been hailed over the years by everyone who has attempted to write about cricket. I do not want to write about it, it would be mere repeating of words. But hats off to a man who plays 20 years at the highest standard and has only let his bat do the talking.
I do not wonder at the ability to play for 20 years or the talent which scores the highest number of runs in Tests and ODIs. I wonder what goes on behind that cranium of Tendulkar. Does he feel the pressure at all? Does he feel tired of expectations and the criticisms? Does he think like we mortals do?
I reckon he is the perfect example of a person who feels comfortable with his own ability, does his best and puts on a invisible coat of something which makes him immune from all the pressure of expectations around him.
With a total of 12,773 runs in Test cricket and 17,178 runs in ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar has nothing to prove. He is already a legend and will remain so until Cricket is played. But he continues to play, as if he is not aware of his own achievements.
Some people have criticized Tendulkar at various times. Often the grouse being he doesn’t win India matches. Often people forget that Tendulkar has won India many matches but being a team sport he cannot win all matches. To all the critics of the great man and fans alike, I would like to remind that Tendulkar will someday retire and there will be a day when you wont ever get to see Tendulkar take his stance playing for India on live television or at your local city stadium. So sit back and enjoy the last few years of this great man’s career and appreciate anything that he has to offer because players like him don’t come along everyday and we are lucky to be around in the Tendulkar Era.
