Sachin's greatest contribution to Indian Cricket!

More than all the centuries he has scored, all the runs that he has accumulated or all the attacks he has demolished, for me Sachin’s contribution to Indian cricket goes far beyond that. I think his greatest contribution has been the connection that he was able to establish with the fans, who used to rise and fall with him, be elated or shed a tear with his success or failure. He made the fans believe that India could take on any other side in the word by looking them in the eye, that Indians can go abroad and dominate opposition bowlers on those fast and bouncy tracks, where India had a perennial record of struggling. Sanjay Manjrekar clearly pointed out once that very early on in his career, Sachin brought with him a brand of cricket into the Indian cricket viewer’s attention, with a kind of hitting that was never seen before, the best example of which would be his annihilation of Abdul Qadir, when he hit the virtuoso leggie for 4 consecutive sixes as a sixteen year old, when most other players found it difficult to pick him.
Growing up as kid in the 90s, I remember getting up in the morning, all charged up when there is a India match just to see the little genius exhibit his wide array of stokes, impeccable balance and mesmerizing timing. Those days most people even used to switch off the television when Sachin got out. The impact that he had was immense, with people bunking schools and offices to watch the little master make a century. The happiness and smiles that he brought to Indian homes and gave them them a reason to celebrate, that too so often, would always stand out for me whenever I think of Sachin Tendulkar, say 30 years from today.
Moreover, He made his fellow players and youngsters believe in themselves by leading from the front by setting an example. He was a great guide for the youngsters as every cricketer who made his debut during Sachin’s era would say. His performances outside of India in test cricket, his exploits in major tournaments like World Cup and his ability to even the tame that great Australian bowling attack in the early 2000s gave young India a sense of belief that they can achieve the unthinkable and they have every reason to dream for it. Of course, in this attempt of his, he was ably supported by Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, who deserve a mention here. There used to be a time when he would be fighting his heart out in the middle, taking on bowlers and teams on his own despite the fact that there would be hardly anybody to support him at the other end with the Indian team looking like a one man army at times. The best example of this would be the Chennai test match between India and Pakistan in 1999, where he fought his way through a back spasm to the most amazing century and put India in a winning position from dire straits on a pitch which was turning square but as it panned out, when he got out, the rest of Indian team subsided within two overs, loosing 4 quick wickets exhibiting a definite lack of responsibility, patience and a sense of purpose. Of course these things changed with time in Indian cricket via Sachin who was the major inspiration for the other players and so when India won the World cup in 2011, it was the perfect gift for a man who had given his everything to Indian cricket, which was also rightfully recognized by his teammates, who carried him on their shoulders for probably the most deserving lap of honour in the history of cricket.