Being Sachin Tendulkar

"Indians are ruthless, when they love you they go overboard, when they don't they aim for your head" Anonymous

Its a curse to have talent if this is what you have to go through so many times while playing for your country I say. Ricky Ponting has retired!!!! so what dammit , since 2009 his form had gone from bad to worse and the selectors persisted with him even in Australia played some 25 tests(before India helped him discover his touch obviously). Our men Sachin, Dravid and Laxman are still the top 3 ranked Indian test batsmen as per the ICC ranking but no thats not enough for us, without playing even a single ODI from the WC 2011 till now Sachin is still 22 nd in the World ODI rankings and MSD's and media's current favorites(Raina. Rohit Sharma) feature much below that. So one thing is clear that the seniors might not be at their best currently but their mediocre form is a lot better than the rest of the team's pathetic form to say the least.

These times come in every great cricketer's life more than once, in 2007-08 Sachin himself was staring at retirement as his elbow injury was proving to be the Achilles heel for him but he did come back and came back stronger than ever before statistically and effectively. Sachin does not stop from other guys from coming in and perform, which is why Dravid, Dada, VVS and Sehwag did very well as together it was a great combination along with Sachin. These 4 batsman names might have almost carried Indian Cricket from a tag of also rans to World beaters that we were known as till an year back. However in the last 10 years there has not been a single player who has even threatened to deliver performances at the top to challenge these Gallaticos for the test spot, Look at the current pool of talent available and one would know why we need the big boys. India hasn't fully recovered from losing Anil Kunble as a strike bowler a couple of years back and letting go of our batting machine would be tragic. The fact is that Australia has a backup and we don't so lets not compare Ponting and Sachin.

Just becuase a player is 35 plus does not mean he should retire if there is a slump in form, interestingly Dravid was our best player in England, VVS the best against the Windies and Sachin was India's second best in Australia. Even if there is a fault in technique , they have to be given time and assistance to get it back in order.

They deserve to retire whenever they want, Sachin is the best cricketer i have ever seen, Dravid is the most effective test batsman India has ever produced and VVS Laxman is the greatest finisher of test matches especially when the going gets tough. And open your eyes they play for our team and its not a corporate its sport at the highest level and there needs to be a lot of dignity and respect given to these guys as they have given it all for the pride of our nation and sadly I dont see anyone in the current lot barring Virat Kohli who can even fill the shoes of their kids.

One more thing , Sachin would not become greater if he scores the 100th 100 and he would be no lesser if he retired at 99, and if the 100 was on Sachin's mind the way its on our I am sure he would have played the ODI series against Windies at home to complete it. Its NOT important at all for anybody except for the media and the retired useless cricketers who are like old men in wars, All they do is to talk about something and crib about another.

When I grow older I would like to tell my kids, I saw Indian cricket team play a test match against Aussies in Kolkata with Sachin, Dravid and VVS all playing together. WOW

Dealing with Job Loss

You lost a job so be it, shit happens wether you were good enough or there were problems in your organization or there was politics, all that does not matter after you have lost your job. The impact of losing a job is directly proportional to the experience and seniority that you enjoy in your organization. Here’s a quick reference as to how one should ideally deal with something which is the biggest price of modern day capitalism

• The basics: start spending less generally and stop spending on non essentials, YES you would find another job and things would be back on track again but then you never know. In a high probability lay-offs happen in tough market conditions and you don’t want to be eating out of your savings for too long.
• Psychological impact: Can be severe especially on persons who have been top performers earlier, and it’s difficult to suggest that it won’t be, but remember that You shall lose the fear of a job loss itself which has been our biggest fear otherwise. You can proudly say that you have been there done that. Now it depends on a person to come out of this stigma and the faster he comes out the better it is.
• The taboo: Historically there is a social stigma attached to getting pink slips and this is a wrong time to try and justify in front of people why this happened. People who love you anyways have belief in you and people who hate you would never trust you no matter what you say. Forget about what has happened and be very open about it, as such things are never hidden, especially from a prospective employer, professional contact or a client. You can’t help it so just enjoy it. Also the world is maturing and pink slips are gaining acceptability in the society and the market place.
• The opportunity: A job loss could be an opportunity for us to look at a change in career or to take a sabbatical that we have always wished for but never had the time for due to our schedules. Also one can look to further your educational qualifications during this time as in a high probability the job scene would not be too great.
• We have to be ready to take salary cuts, ok it might feel that its a step in the backward direction but then with each percentile of salary cut your probability of employment keeps going up.
• The big risk: More often than not its been seen that after pink slips most person look in for stable options in employment rather than high growth options that one always looks at otherwise. Its a subjective decision but since we are a part of an extraordinary economy I feel the prospect of growth makes a lot of sense especially in case you are young and chasing a dream. Getting into a SLOW job might just kill you before you die your natural death.

Lets always remember that whatever has to happen has happened and has happened for a reason, nothing can keep us down except our own motivation and hard work

“I’ll get knocked down, but I get up again, You re never gonna keep me down”

TUBTHUMPING: Chumbawamba