The team of ClickCricket.com was travelling to Mumbai, for the launch of this website. Ajay (Jadeja) had told us that Indian World Cup Team 1999 was playing an exhibition match against the World Cup winning team of 1983 on that day, and that would be the best opportunity for us to launch our website. What he told us next was something that put us on cloud nine. Sachin would inaugurate the site!!!
We prayed that there should not be any hitch in front of a person who has seldom seen failures. We had double- checked the software so that it loaded and ran properly in front of him. The pressure made our hearts thump at double speed the moment Sachin came in, though we were performing only before a crowd of just about a hundred people
Sachin came, watched the demo, clicked the mouse, inaugurated the site and answered the TV crew. He looked very calm, composed and cool. Thank God everything went off perfectly and Sachin could inaugurate the site without any glitch.
The pressure that we went through before just this formal function made me think about the bigger pressures Sachin would have to conquer to perform well. It is always before capacity crowds at the stadium and several millions who watch the game all over the world. More often than not, he carries the hopes of the Indian Team and millions of cricket lovers in India. Every-time he gets out to bat, he is expected to demolish the opponent bowlers, score centuries and if he fails in one match, he has to take revenge by demolishing that very same bowler in the next match. Be it Shane Warne or Henri Olanga, without exception. A hero can never accept defeat, you know.
I think, the way he has handled these pressures and succeeded has made him a Celebrity and Superstar. Celebrities are achievers in their specific fields. All celebrities are stars. But all stars are not superstars. Consistency in performance is the factor that makes a star into a SUPERSTAR. A star may be inconsistent in performance. But, a Superstar is one who performs consistently, every time, again and again. The game of cricket has seen many stars but very few superstars. You don’t get a Bradman, Sobers, Richards, Kapil or Sachin everyday. They are decades apart.
Cricket is a team game, so it is very difficult for an individual to completely steal the limelight. One off performances do not give superstardom. In this game of 11 players, it is that player who performs and lifts the performance of other team members, who becomes a superstar.
For performing like that time in and time out, one has to be very tough. One has to be very passionate about the game. One has to have a lot of desire to face challenges all the time and come out successful. One cannot gamble to see if one can succeed. A planned approach towards success is a must.
A team has to be very fortunate to have a Superstar among them. And a country can be very proud to have a superstar representing them. The world can feel good about having the chance of witnessing exhilarating performances from superstars. Superstars find their place in history forever and they are legends who are followed and their performance makes people emulate such success stories. And when even one in a million succeeds we get a new superstar… . We are proud of the fact that we live in the same period of time Sachin lives as a Superstar.