Goodbye Sachin

CENT PER CENT SACHIN
The MCA is going all out to give a befitting farewell to their local wonder boy Sachin Tendulkar, and quite tastefully at that. For one, the circular stands are capped with a picture of Sachin celebrating each of his 51 Test centuries. The pictures are from the archives in which Sachin is either being felicitated or is holding a trophy in the respective ground to commemorate his achievement. Century No 1 is from England, two from Sydney and No 3 from Perth. A young Sachin beaming after scoring, mind you, in away series and going on to show his muscle all over the world. It is a befitting tribute to the legend – and perhaps a peep into the future, considering that every milestone put up by MCA is flanked by Virat Kohli staring everyone down from a hoarding of a fairness cream!
KOHLI OVERSHADOWS
And herein lies a somewhat embarrassing moment for the MCA too, as Virat Kohli’s picture and advert surrounding the rooftop perimeter of the stadium overshadows Tendulkar’s 51 photographs. Apparently, the FMCG company had long before bought this space for a commercial blitz in Sachin’s final Test. As the hoarding space had been sold separately, the MCA has no control over this aspect — as cricket does not have over the intense commercialisation of the game. The other way to look at it of course is the end of one glorious era signals the possibility of the beginning of another glorious era of Indian cricket, well feted by the corporates of course!
WHO’S WHO FOR 200TH
It will be a veritable who’s who at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday when India plays Sachin’s last cricketing game against the West Indies and one doesn’t really know if Sachin’s aam aadmi fans will find even scant space here. The Bollywood industry, the corporates, the bureaucrats and, of course, the politicians have reserved their seats for the momentous occasion. One question doing the rounds? Will Shah Rukh Khan  get a temporary waiver from the ongoing MCA ban to get just a one-time entry into the stadium to add spice to the Sachin saga? Unlikely, they whisper. But then, there’s always Amitabh Bachchan and, of course, Ranbir Kapoor. 
Source; The Pioneer, November 14, 2013

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