One, a scientist and expert on intellectual property:
At the end of giving one's best to the country for 64 years, I and my family feel deeply pained and grieved. [link]
And the other, a cricketer:
I've given my heart and my soul for 17 years. ... I am shattered beyond words and I feel helpless. I've never felt so bad in my entire career. [link]
And just as Mashelkar has ignored the real issues, so has Tendulkar. Cricinfo has some damning stats about him and others. Since Sept 2005, in 11 games against the world's top two teams (Australia and South Africa), Tendulkar has only crossed 50 once (he made 55) and averages 14. Only Yuvraj in the current team has a respectable average. In recent "away" series, only Yuvraj and Kaif average over 30; Kaif's average is 48, over 24 innings, and he's not even in the current team. Tendulkar's average over those series is 27, over 18 innings. Chappell's methods may not have suited our players, but it's not like the world cup was an aberration: if one doesn't question the players' commitment, one has to question their ability.
ReplyDeleteMore about Tendulkar, from this article by Arvind Lavakare:
ReplyDelete'No coach has ever reported even in passing that my attitude was not correct', [Tendulkar] says.
Well, well, well. Didn't Tendulkar plainly sulk on our last tour of Pakistan when Rahul Dravid declared the team's innings closed even as Tendulkar was just a few runs short of another double century? Didn't he tell the media that he was surprised at the timing of Dravid's declaration? Wasn't that 'attitude'?
Was it correct? If coach John Wright didn't write about in his tour report that may well because he's too much of a gentleman. Or he may well have reported it but the dossier was overlooked because we won the series.
Again, this season before the World Cup, when Chappell had made it clear that Tendulkar would bat in the middle order so that he could hold the innings together for the full 50 overs, Tendulkar did not hesitate to tell the media that he preferred to bat as an opener. Was that 'attitude' correct?
I think that the "Gods bats at No 5 for India" line has become seriously dated. From God Sachin is rapidly become a devil or a much bigger Saurav. He commands enough adulation that the board cannot drop him and yet he is simply unable to carry his weight around in the team.
ReplyDeleteI had hoped that Sachin would retire at least a year ago. Though he deserved a place in the team, he was no longer the best player. And there were plenty of batsmen who could have taken his place.
Finally it is time for India to move on past the Tendulkar era. He is such a massive personality in Indian cricket that his aura will always loom over the team as long as he is a part of it.