Is Sachin pushing Father Time too far?

One of the greatest moments in modern Indian sport came to be on the 2nd of April, 2011 in Mumbai. Chasing down a challenging total in front of billions of spectators, India beat Sri Lanka in the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup to take world cricket's most coveted prize for the second time in history. It's almost like yesterday in the memories of a billion Indian cricket fans. For others, it was a closely fought battle between two of Asia's cricketing heavyweights.

There were a number of inspiring scenes at the Wankhede that night - Mahendra Singh Dhoni's trademark helicopter six off the last ball, the barrage of blue-shirted Indians rushing out on to the field to embrace their skipper and perhaps more significant, the Indians carrying Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders with the Tricolour draped around him. It was an emotional moment. The greatest cricketer in world history had finally won the greatest prize of them all, and to add to it, he'd done it in front of his home ground. Young colt Virat Kohli summed it up when he said, "Sachin has carried the burdens of the country on his shoulders for 22 years. It's time we carried him on ours."

Sounds romantic, doesn't it? But Tendulkar's 22-year-old international career wasn't done yet. There was something else - he had 99 international hundreds to his name. "Only" 99. No human had ever come within touching distance of that figure. But there's something about mathematics and psychology that seems to make 100 much greater than 99 compared to how great 99 is to 98. Sir Donald Bradman, the legendary Australian batsman, had an average of 99.94 in international cricket when he retired. He needed a mere four runs in his final innings before little known Eric Hollies decided to carve his name in the pages of history by getting the most famous wicket of all time. The Don saw his stumps fly out as cricket's most awaited innings was done and dusted in just two balls with a blob on the scorecard. Tendulkar certainly didn't want to do that. And so, it took him more than a whole year to go from 99 to 100, scoring a century against little Bangladesh in the Asia Cup of 2012 in a game which India shockingly lost. TIME published a cover story on Tendulkar after that explaining why he was the "greatest sportsman ever". But the sheen was gone. The man himself had been made tired by all the number chasing.

I learnt two things from the whole episode - for one, the astronomical distance between 99 and 100 was reinforced and two, imperfection is legendary. Tendulkar is undoubtedly the greatest man to have ever held a bat in his hand (some may bring up the name of the Don to counter that) but there is something more mystical about 99 as compared to 100.

The Falling Timber: Tendulkar is bowled, yet again

Following Tendulkar's magnificent achievement, people started asking him when he was to retire. But Tendulkar brushed them aside. "You don't retire when you're on top; you serve the nation when you're on top." It was a novel thought. But he wasn't quite on top at the time. Following the fairytale World Cup win, India went on to get walloped in England and Australia. Tendulkar was a part of both squads and he watched helplessly as his team was getting slaughtered. It was hard work representing India on the cricket pitch. Patience was running out back home with over a billion people wounded by the drubbing. So two of modern cricket's legends and Tendulkar's closest comrades, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman stepped down to let young blood take over. But despite his past glory, Tendulkar's own stats weren't doing him much good. The reflexes were slowing down, the stamina was disappearing, the energy was waning, and the shoulders that had carried a whole nation's sporting hopes for over two decades were starting to droop. People started to inevitably beg the question - "when?"

With England giving Tendulkar a hard time on pitches he had grown up on, the time is running out. One of the marks of a great athlete is that he steps down from the podium at the right time. It's hard to say when the "right time" is. But Steve Waugh did it. Pete Sampras did too. And so did Usain Bolt. Tendulkar's legacy is one that is unparalleled in world sport. No man has ever carried the hopes of so many passionate people on his shoulders with so much success for such a long period of time. No man has so single-handedly dominated the record books of any sport with such consummate ease. Tendulkar hasn't just broken records - he has set new ones at another level altogether, often asking of humanity if anyone born of flesh and blood can ever go so high. It would be a real shame if such a heroic icon was to outlive his own legacy, taking away some of that sheen as he walks away. He deserves a glorious exit, and to be fair, he's had plenty of opportunities to have had it before.