My Tribute to MSD

How he became a part of my life?

When we are young kids, we always look for someone to look up to.

Most of us generally look to some family members like parents or older siblings for inspiration.

Personally, I always been very different from most people in my life because I've been inclined towards all kinds of sports from a very young age.

I didn't really have anyone to look up as a role model because both of my parents were into academics, despite my mother encouraging me to enjoy different sports every now and then.

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The first time I properly understood cricket would be around the time when I was around seven.

The first T20 World Cup was about to be held a few months after the ODI World Cup and India had a young new captain.

I hadn't realised it back then but a certain long haired cricketer from Ranchi really intrigued me.

I don't really know what drew me to him at first, but I just loved to watch him play, something that hasn't changed till date.

My school timings were in the afternoon back then, so I used to stay up to watch all the matches with my mother during that tournament.

I didn't realise back then that this young captain was going to end up being someone who I would idolise for years later (and also drive me parents insane 😜)

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I remember watching the matches during the 2011 World Cup, where the Captain Cool's on field demeaner won me over as a forever fan.

After the finals my father even decided to take us out on the streets, that were completely packed with vehicles because everyone was celebrating.

I used to play a few individual sports back then and was very expressive on the ground but from him I learnt how to control my emotions, without even realising it.

My coaches were surprised to see me react very calmly, despite knowing that a referee had judged me unfairly during an event.

I even surprised my parents with how unbothered I was after winning my first gold medal at a local tournament.

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Over the years I got into team games and thanks to my idol, I was able to make the transition from an individual sport to a team sport quite smoothly.

I never really cared if I was the star player at the end of the day because for me helping my team win was much more important.

Team before self was a little something that I had learnt from him and that gave me the courage to sometimes switch my role as per the team's requirements.

As a fan I always hated seeing his name being dragged through the mud, but he always impressed me with the way he handled those situations.

His actions through those tough times taught me many life lessons that I try my best to follow even today.

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I don't really know when I started respecting the armed forces, but my love for the soldiers only grew since he was given an honorary position in the army.

I don't exactly remember when I started seriously considering the idea of writing the NDA exam and began reading up about it online.

It was really disappointing to learn that girls weren't allowed to give the exams then, but it didn't deter me from looking for alternatives ways to help the real heroes.

There's only one Indian cricket team cap that I own and it's the most special one – the camouflage one.

The little things that he does to ensure that the Indian Tricolour is not disrespected in any way, even by accident, fills my heart with pride.

His small gestures to show his pride of being an army man – be it wearing his camouflage pants while travelling or wearing a t-shirt with his troop's name and symbol or even wearing his uniform to collect the Padma Bhushan from the President of India – made me respect him even more.

The fact that he completed some special army training to earn a badge along with the news of him going to fulfil his duty shows how much he loves being a soldier.

He has always done his best to serve his nation – be it as an Indian Cricketer or as Soldier – which makes all his fans proud for loving him the way that they do.

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He doesn't know of my existence, but he has definitely helped in making me the person that I am today.

He's not just a cricketer, but someone who lives to serve his country in whatever way possible for him.

Most people might think of me as just a fan, but only the ones closest to me know how much I idolise the man.

One of my biggest dreams is to meet him so that I can thank him for teaching me so many important lessons that I could have never learnt inside a classroom.

~ Dreamer Lass