Dear Sachin,

I don't know how you did what you did. It's superhuman/godlike if you ask me.

You carried the weight of our expectations for 24 years. TWENTY FOUR YEARS. That's 80% of my existing life.

As an Indian kid growing up, everyone around me wanted to be "Sachin". We bought MRF bats, BAS gloves, wore a tennis elbow strap on our hands without knowing what it meant, pretended to score a 100 and look up at the sky, visualized ourselves hitting the on-drive as you did. We had your posters in our rooms; we'd switch off the telly after you got out. I'd even asked my mum to sort 'Boost' instead of Bournvita. I'm not going to dive into your 100 100s and match-winning performances because the stats, over the 24 years, speak for themselves but what I really want to embody in my life is the way you carried yourself on and off the field.

A true ambassador to the game. You dealt with your posters being burned, family being threatened, the house almost attacked when we got knocked out of the World Cup in 2007. How did that make you not want to quit the game? After giving so much to the nation and still being treated this way, how did you find it within you to stay motivated? It's beyond me.

Barring the fanatics, you were loved by your team, opponents, rival fans, pundits, everyone involved with the game for the entire duration of your career.

At that level, you're bound to put a foot wrong somewhere, but you maintained your class and dignity wherever you went.

In many ways, you were responsible for helping India grow as a sporting nation. Around the time you grew, the country grew in parallel. Sponsors came into the game, and today Indian cricket is at the top of the food chain, primarily because of your contributions and sacrifices for the game.

Thank you for making us love the game.

Thank you for showing us the way.

Thank you for showing us humility despite your massive achievements.

Thank you for giving us all the memories. It's your birthday today, but I can't help but feel truly blessed to be born in an era where you played.

Today I am facing serious confidence issues, and all I seek inspiration from is you. I watch your videos, your interviews and realize how simple your approach to the game is. I know that one day this too shall pass, and there will be light at the end of the tunnel, and for that and everything else, I will always thank you.

As you said, "Enjoy the game and chase your dreams. Dreams do come true".

I'm going to end this with my favourite quote on you.

My bad, we can't end without the greatest chant in the history of chants.

I'm going to leave you with one of the best Sachin videos you can watch today.

Enjoy.

Best,

The Bat Packer and everyone who was blessed to be born in your era.