A lot has been said and written about Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar in the recent past.
In the last few years, certain facts have emerged. Tendulkar is not the greatest batsman ever, Sir Donald Bradman is. He is not the most destructive batsman either. He has mellowed down to a considerable extent, unlike Sir Issac Vivian Alexander Richards. If you want to win a Test match you would rather ask a Brian Charles Lara or Steve Waugh than our little big man. Our own Saurav Ganguly, I feel, has better timing than Sachin. Mark ‘Elegant’ Waugh’s batting is the prettiest thing in the cricket ground I have ever seen. Rahul Dravid certainly has better technique than our mumbai maestro. Sunil Gavaskar was, is and most likely will be the best opener India has ever produced. Dean Jones and Jonty Rhodes are the best runners between the wickets the world has known.
What does all these facts mean? Does this all belittle Sachin?
To understand Tendulkar’s contribution, it is certainly important to have a perspective of Life in general and Indian cricket in particular during the 90s when he entered the arena.
The perspective of life is important because if you don’t know what guts is all about, you cannot appreciate the 50 odd he scored with his nose bleeding as a 16-year old against the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis in their home turf when India was tottering at 38 for 4.
If you cannot understand the FLOW experience of life, neither could have you enjoyed the 80 odd he made in that seminal innings at Auckland when he went out to open for India for the first time in an ODI.
Phoenix bird is brought to your mind by the way he came back into the reckoning as batsman incomparable after being removed from the captaincy.
Single-handed heroics was best exemplified in his two innings at Sharjah against Australia in 1998. Mike Kasprowicz’s career was almost destroyed after the torture he had to undergo at that time.
Strategy, planning, preparation and perfect execution were in play when Tendulkar tormented Warne & Co against Australia in 1998.
Tendulkar in 1999 again at Chepauk showed that in life you can do everything right and still fail occasionally when he made that 137 battling Pakistan and acute back spasms. I consider that as the greatest test innings in a lost cause.
Letting your work do the talking when people attack you is the lesson you learn when you watch Tendulkar cut Shoaib Akhtar to size against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup when he made that 98.
Commitment to a larger cause stood out in his century against Kenya almost immediately after his father’s death.
Are you fighting for your reputation? Watch Sachin’s unbeaten 240 at Sydney in 2004.
If you like being straight forward in life, have a look at his killer straight drives. If you love style, you might prefer his cover drives perhaps.
Patience is illustrated by his waiting for 5 years and almost a 100 ODI matches before he scored his first ODI hundred. He has more than any other player now.
The essence of teamwork is the tutorial when you see him sprint between the wickets for his partner at the other end who is a generation junior.
The present Indian cricket stars have all built their fortress based on what he had done. Almost right throughout the 90’s, the match is on if Tendulkar is at the crease. It was gone when he got dismissed. It was as simple as that.
Whatever he has achieved is done without controversies right through out his career.
In a way, Tendulkar has been given the honour he deserves. You don’t compare Dravid with Richards. Tendulkar is compared with Richards for attacking cricket, with Javed Miandad and Steve Waugh for fighting cricket, with Mark Waugh for stylish cricket, with Brian Charles Lara for wizardry, with Gavaskar for technique and temperament, with Ganguly for timing and with Dean Jones for running between the wickets. If this is not an honour, what else is?
If you want to enjoy cricket, watch the likes of Ponting and his folks. If you want to learn life lessons, think about Tendulkar’s cricket.