As the year 2012 comes to an end, the biggest news for Indian cricket is the retirement of its God – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Since Cricket has attained the status of being the largest religion in India, there has been only one undisputed God for the past two decade.
This page is my personal ode to SRT and what I’ve learned from him in my day to day management. I have devised an acronym for his style in tune with his image of The Little Master. Sachin’s baby face always hid his age and is the perfect reflection of the passion and enthusiasm he bought in the field whether its playing with greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev or encouraging youngsters like Kohli, Raina. So my management learning from Sachin is to be a C.H.I.L.D.
Commitment: 100% commitment every game for the past 25 years. Commitment of staying fit. Commitment for every role and responsibility. Middle order play or opening for the country. Bowling last over in crunch situation.
Honesty: Expectation of billions of people, million dollar endorsements, rise of Indian cricket stature, multi crore deals in IPL: SRT has witnessed every commercial aspect of the game. However, I don’t think there is any other non controversial cricketer of his status in World cricket. Crowds worship him, media loves him. There are few people who you see and know that this guy is the Sachha insaan. And SRT has been honest to his team, his game, his country. Umpire and officials of the game will always know that SRT won’t lie. Typical example is the Harbhajan-Hayden issue.
Integrity: To me Integrity is opposite of hypocrisy. SRT never seemed to be biased about anyone, he played his responsibility. I don’t think of him as a cricketer of Mumbai, especially when regional biases exist among greatest of players. Wasim Akram quotes “Opposition bowlers priced his wicket as premium, but after sometime even the Indian team started believing that his wicket is the backbone of the entire team.” I don’t remember a single match he has played feigning injury, turning up for his club and not for the country.
Leadership: Sachin might not have been a successful captain of India, but he has always been the leader of his skill. He has always been a thought leader, be it promoting himself as an opener in ODI or bowling 6 different deliveries in an over. It’s known that his presence in the dressing room is an inspiration. It’s a privilege to have someone in a Corporate team. He could have easily retained his captaincy, but had no qualms in following his heart.
Dedication: 25 years in the world of fitness is itself a feat. And he has done it by adapting his skills with changing challenges. Focussing on strengths and never opting for short cuts. Many felt that he still has 2 more years of cricket at the highest stage, but he chose what his heart said. And his final quote: It has never been about Sachin Tendulkar, it’s always about India.
Salute SRT for displaying and teaching me perhaps the best style of management in the most aggressive competitive and unforgiving world of business – being a CHILD.
Joypratip Sengupta is a marketing professional working for the largest telecom operator in the world. He is a specialist in the diverse and competitive Indian telecom market with over 100 million mobile subscribers. You can follow him at twitter/joypratip
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