"It hit us like a bolt out of the blue! He seemed unstoppable until he reached 200 international centuries." moaned Ravi Shastri. Former batting great Sunil Gavaskar shared Mr. Shastri's sentiment, "India needs Sachin now more than ever." When reminded that Mr. Gavaskar had called for Sachin's retirement as recently as last week, his response was candid. "I have been advising Sachin for the last 20 years, and he has always ignored me. I did not expect he will take me seriously, least of all on his decision to retire!"
The fans were inconsolable. Several of them had already gathered at the India Gate in a peaceful protest and a candlelight vigil. 18-year old Rahul (name changed) appeared disoriented. "The world's not the same anymore. Sachin has stopped playing. God knows what's next? The sun won't rise in the East!" Others were more rational in their grief. "Watching cricket will never be the same. Sachin was special and he gave so much excitement. He was arguably the world's best, but he would never deliver when India needed. That got us glued to the TV sets in the hope that maybe in this match things would change. They never did."
Not just his fans, even his opponents were left disappointed with Sachin's decision to retire. Edulolo Patagou, 14-year old bowling sensation from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe woke up to the news of Sachin's retirement and was disappointed. "I was hoping to make my ODI debut in 2016 when India tours Zimbabwe. I had my eyes set on getting Sachin's wicket at least three times in the series. His vulnerability against straight balls from slow bowlers is well-known." Former English pacer Ian Botham echoed these thoughts. "Every kid in my academy dreams about getting Sachin out. None of them are expected to play for England before 2020, but I assured them that the little master would still be around. I can't look into their eyes now." A similar pall of gloom descended on cricket academies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa while two such academies in Ireland were shut down. Bowling coach, Fred O'Brien, felt it was pointless to run the academy. "The boys realized that their prospect of getting wickets in international cricket evaporated with Sachin's retirement."
Bangladesh, on the other hand, erupted in spontaneous celebrations. Long lines were seen outside the Shere-e-Bangla cricket stadium where the Bangladesh Cricket Board is headquartered. People were lining up for the upcoming winter bowling camp. Ahmed Murtuza, a software engineer sounded delighted, "I quit my job and want to be a cricketer now." Akram Khan, former captain of the Bangladesh cricket team explained, "For years, Sachin's best performances were against us. He was remarkably consistent and would inevitably notch up a century whenever he played against Bangladesh. The morale of our bowlers was crushed, but his retirement has given a much needed boost. We can go back to being the most dreaded bowling attack in the world."
The fans were inconsolable. Several of them had already gathered at the India Gate in a peaceful protest and a candlelight vigil. 18-year old Rahul (name changed) appeared disoriented. "The world's not the same anymore. Sachin has stopped playing. God knows what's next? The sun won't rise in the East!" Others were more rational in their grief. "Watching cricket will never be the same. Sachin was special and he gave so much excitement. He was arguably the world's best, but he would never deliver when India needed. That got us glued to the TV sets in the hope that maybe in this match things would change. They never did."
Not just his fans, even his opponents were left disappointed with Sachin's decision to retire. Edulolo Patagou, 14-year old bowling sensation from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe woke up to the news of Sachin's retirement and was disappointed. "I was hoping to make my ODI debut in 2016 when India tours Zimbabwe. I had my eyes set on getting Sachin's wicket at least three times in the series. His vulnerability against straight balls from slow bowlers is well-known." Former English pacer Ian Botham echoed these thoughts. "Every kid in my academy dreams about getting Sachin out. None of them are expected to play for England before 2020, but I assured them that the little master would still be around. I can't look into their eyes now." A similar pall of gloom descended on cricket academies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa while two such academies in Ireland were shut down. Bowling coach, Fred O'Brien, felt it was pointless to run the academy. "The boys realized that their prospect of getting wickets in international cricket evaporated with Sachin's retirement."
Bangladesh, on the other hand, erupted in spontaneous celebrations. Long lines were seen outside the Shere-e-Bangla cricket stadium where the Bangladesh Cricket Board is headquartered. People were lining up for the upcoming winter bowling camp. Ahmed Murtuza, a software engineer sounded delighted, "I quit my job and want to be a cricketer now." Akram Khan, former captain of the Bangladesh cricket team explained, "For years, Sachin's best performances were against us. He was remarkably consistent and would inevitably notch up a century whenever he played against Bangladesh. The morale of our bowlers was crushed, but his retirement has given a much needed boost. We can go back to being the most dreaded bowling attack in the world."
