Though Sachin does not need any introduction, his book does need a review. I have been a fan of Sachin Tendulkar all my life and will never be able to accept any other cricketer as my ideal. Sachin was the best batsman in the world and he continues to be so. He stands on a heap of records that will seldom be broken by any player in the near or distant future. His book, partly written by him and partly by Boria Mazumdar, Playing it My Way was published in the year 2014 and the book broke many records just after the publication… and, even before the publication. The craze for Sachin among his fans is unparalleled and we can see it on display on many occasions. His birthday, a day of importance in his career, his debut day or his last day on the cricket pitch.
Playing it My Way, though the fans hoped for more information outside the field, could not offer too much into the life of this master batsman. We only got to know how he first met Anjali, how did he woo her and how they got married. However, the book has plenty to rejoice as the title relives some of the most memorable moments of Tendulkar with a bat in his hand. Yes, one more thing, if you read the book carefully and reach the conclusion, you will find that many pages have been decorated with the records of Tendulkar – which, I think, might be unnecessary altogether as we all know his records, mostly by heart!
The book does justify some of the aspirations that we all had… it will help the readers who could not watch the memorable inning by Sachin. You can feel the events happening in front of your eyes. You can visualise them… However, I will reiterate that this is neither the biography nor the autobiography of this great batsman. More and more I read it, it seemed like a book written in haste to capture the momentum of events. Yes, Sachin later did come up with an autobiography and that might the piece of literature doing justice with the life events of Tendulkar.
Playing it My Way is more like a tribute to the great achievements of Tendulkar. It might be troublesome looking for all in one place on the internet and there the book will come to your rescue. However, if you are looking for the family man Sachin, husband Sachin, father Sachin… you might need to get a copy of the other one – Sachin’s Autobiography. All the best!
Review by The Book Blog Contributor
