The Devastating Truth

I was waiting to watch you play, to see your smile, to cheer as you scored those beautiful boundaries and sixes, to watch you live at least once in my life time, to fulfill my greatest dream, to jump, scream and bleed blue as you bring glory to the nation, but the wish goes unfulfilled. You are not playing the Pakistan series.

I am not ashamed to say that tears were pouring out of my eyes when I read the media release stating your retirement. I have grown up watching you play, I have grown up defending you, I have grown up reading about you, I have grown up fighting for you and believing in you when nobody else did, I have grown up watching your best innings on loop, I have grown up praying for you, I have grown up trusting blindly that you can not retire and that it cannot be possible. Because I believed that you would never stop, that you would play on forever.

There are a lot of people out there who didn’t like you, who didn’t trust you and who made it look like you were playing only for yourself, but I assure you that I have always believed in you, I have always knew that you did what was best for the team, for India.

I hated the fact that every news channel, while discussing the issue of your retirement, showed images and videos of your downfall, your missed chances, your failures. If there is one person who deserves a good farewell, it is you and I am sorry that these people could not understand that basic fact.

I can not believe the fact that I will no longer watch you in blue, cruising India towards victory. It is so natural to imagine you in the playing eleven, as easy as breathing that the thought that you will no longer be there to support the youngsters, to help them in their thirst for victory is very difficult to digest.

I know that you have played for long, I know that you need this time off, both physically and psychologically and that it is rather selfish on my part to expect you to keep playing but I cannot help the fact that there is a hollowness in me, so heavy and at the same time so empty that it has left me speechless.

I started watching cricket when you smashed Akthar all over the ground in the 2003 world cup. There is no looking back from then. Every series, every match has been special and I can’t believe that you won’t be a part of all that anymore.

I know that I will see you in white, still playing, still grinning, still making history but the ODI squad will definitely miss you but more than all that, the world of cricket will miss its God, its creator, its Guru.

Aishwarya Kumar