A question.
Ok. lets be clear. Sachin looks like he is fading. Sooner or later, the booings are going to get louder, his place in the team will be questioned, unless he scores a hundred that is. When he does that I, for sure will write a post ridiculing those who were baying for his blood. I have my own reasons. I am a sachin worshipper and i make no bones about it.
But let’s face the worst case scenario. Say sachin is out. What next? Do we have a player good enough to replace him? If yes, who?
Those who want Sachin dropped may well think about someone specific. It’s just not done to say “some youngsters”. Which among those crores of youngsters will replace Sachin? Say someone specific.
Say someone who can bat under any conditions, with no known technical weaknesses. and who has performed consistently in the last few years?
How many in the Indian camp can handle the Shortpitched stuff well? How many can move their feet well?
I want to know.
To my mind, we still cannot replace Sachin. Sure, we can drop him. But replace? Hell No. This is reality.
March 30th, 2006 at 2:39 am
One thing I have to say in this..
Yes, sachin’s not in good form. But in the one dayers in pakistan, he did fine. We have to give him some more room. He’s not been extremely healthy. Dropping him can only hurt his confidence and his vast experience will go unused. I firmly believe that there’s still a lot of cricket left in him !
March 30th, 2006 at 3:09 am
PK, I agree. None to replace him. Some new guy from a city school in Mumbai - Tondulkar - is set to be the next biggie on the Indian cricketing scene. Guess he is also from Shardashram (same school as Sachin’s).
March 30th, 2006 at 6:10 am
IMHO Sachin has to go. A century here and there and several pathetic scores is not good for Indian Cricket and for Sachin too.
Your question ‘Who is good? Who can replace?’ sounds logical..but ..give an youngster chances like Modern-Sachin..and I’m sure a new player of Sachin’s caliber or even better will evolve.
Its not the question of form here..IMHo..Its the question of age. Pathetic to see young flesh sitting around..when aged muscles have to go for surgery..every so often..
Sachin - Please retire , Its good for you, good for Indian cricket and it is also good for an ambitious young batsman.!
March 30th, 2006 at 7:03 am
dinesh,
i think what people expect nowadays is the kind of bradmaneque form ricky ponting is in nowadays. people expect something close to that for 16-20 yrs!!!
RC,
coming from the same schoool?IT might make it interesting but a lot remains to be seen i guess.
NV sir,
“give a youngster chances like modern sachin”
orey matter enna na, its not like he was given chances, he has earned those chances by virtue of his track record.
for 13 yrs he was unstoppable.
Consider Steve Waugh’s case.
He was dropped from One day squad bcos there were too many players avilable to replace him.
Not many have Waugh’s tenacity so he was retained in Tests, till he retired.
Innaiku neenga solra youngsters la
basic technical weakness illama yaarum illai indha team la.
Sehwag - found out against short ball. Dhoni- Same.
Yuvraj has the talent but he is not as consistent as we like to be.
they r all wonderful strikers.
But to perform against all opposition at all times for years is not easy. U need much more than wonderful hitting abilities.
to my mind, the only player more valuable than sachin in the present team is Rahul Dravid. the others have still some way to go.
March 30th, 2006 at 7:56 am
We are so used to seeing Sachin carry all responsibility on his shoulders and deliver consistently. That’s the main issue here. Being so used to seeing him as a legend, we refuse to give him a mortal’s space and are even ready to throw him out instead of seeing him not performing. Well, more than 15 years of cricket would tire anyone out…and he has had his share of injuries. So, I guess we should just be bit more forgiving!
He knows his place and would not hang around for nothing. The moment he feels he doesn’t fit in the team anymore, he would humbly move out. But let’s hope that moment is far off.
After all it’s hard to discount the attitude and technique that has groomed the man to great stature! Probably, he might not deliver as consistently as he used to, but by no means can anyone else replace him yet!
March 30th, 2006 at 9:56 am
casement,
yours was one of the best comment on this topic.agree 100%
March 30th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Its very difficult to guess. Like Venkitu said, its better Sachin retire when he was in a good position in playing. we have many talented young players, in our team, can also expect new players, but it’s very rare to see a player like sachin. now our team is playing well under Dravid as Captian.
March 30th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
1) casement and your reply to narayanan venkitu said it all
Moreover…
2) Don’t we know what is happening to Narayanan Venkitu’s “ambitious young batsmEn” and their consistency
“to my mind, the only player more valuable than sachin in the present team is Rahul Dravid. the others have still some way to go.”
Exactly! He is the best at the moment and that’s most important. Yet, strangely people forget the period where Dravid was in obscurity and was actually a liability to the team.
Should Sach retire? - Probably yes
Replacement? - No way!
March 30th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Sachin did an excellent job of masking the realities for 15 yrs - that Indian batsmen(himself included) cant play the incoming ball on a good pitch. Time to face the realities once he goes. Will be interesting to see if he stays in the subdued mode for the rest of his career.
March 30th, 2006 at 10:57 pm
Folks,
We discussed the same issues several years back with
Sunil Gavaskar
GR Viswanath
Bedi
prasanna
Chandra
Venkat
Solar
Vengsarkar
Kapil Dev
to name a few.!! Didn’t we get a Sachin? Didn’t we get a Kumble? Didn’t we get a Dravid?
So what makes you think that Sachin cannot be replaced?
I am clueless here? No hard feeling Sachin fans…Me too …was…was..a Sachin fan a few years back !
March 30th, 2006 at 11:10 pm
I believe there cannot be an Indian who doesn’t love Sachin. If that is all is required to keep him in the team, let him stay, but if the game is bigger than an individual, let him go. More than any physical sports, cricket demands a lot of mental agility, but the mind unconsiously is always listenting to your body. Everything is depended on how you feel. Sachin has been playing for a very long time in a very competitive environment. 17 years of cricket at the highest level, does wear you out. Can he be replaced, may be not, but the game doesn’t stop there, should it ?. I don’t think so, you may not find a clone for him, but what good it be if I can find one. Who knows where the next star is, if the selection committe knows, he would already be in the team. Sachin is an asset, and I’m sure he’ll be associated with the game in one way or the other and I’m sure he’ll be a shining star.
To your query on technical aspects of batting. Is there a reason why Gavaskar was a big fan of Srikanth ?.
March 31st, 2006 at 6:17 am
GR Visvanath was a case of “being dropped” than “retired”. And the true gentleman that he is, withdrew quietly into the shadows. Sandeep Patil or Yashpal Sharma were hardly 1/10th of his class or talent. Steered the team to victory in several 4th innings, his record in Indian wins/4th inngs is as good as Cricket God’s.
March 31st, 2006 at 6:35 am
Why do people make a big fuss about Sachin. Comeon, He has had his days..He is a great cricketer..the whole world knows it. But then when age catches up..rather than being forced to get out..shouldn’t he step down??
Look at his recent so called injury and surgery. My question - Why would someone play..if he/she is not 100% fit ?
March 31st, 2006 at 7:38 am
To NV sir and all,
GR Vishwanath was not in the scene when i started watching cricket. And i’ve been watching from 1985 onwards. Sunny retired on 1987, Kapil in the early nineties i guess. So, the players we see now r not really replacements for those past greats. its a completely different generation altogether.
Dravid made his debut in 1995-6 at lords and it took him some long time to consolidate his position. he has been performing exceedingly well only from 1999 onwards. adukku munnadi as Bala says dravid was just another cricketer… avlo dhaan.
seri, Sachin did not perform when the team needed him in Tests. agreed.
What were the “promising young guns” doing to save the match?
His 34 was the top score even in the second innings in Mumbai Test.
How come others did not even cross single digit when the team needed most?
Avanga ellam adichirundha India would’ve saved the Test and won the series.
So its a collective failure rather being projected as Sachin alone.
Sachin has been a failure in Tests in the last couple of yrs. But the media has been scrutinising only Sachin’s performance when the team fails. What abt the rest? Especially in the tests?
From 2004 to now, u look at Sehwag’s performance in the ODIs and let me know how good he has been. Same with other guys too.
And as dinesh pointed out Sachin did perform in the Pakistan ODIs.
Its not like Sachin can play till he is 55. He has to go when his time has come. Its going to be another couple of yrs at the max.
IF he is not performaing the board has every right to drop him.
But match ku match “sachin has to go” kathina enna nalladhu nu enakku therila.
IF at all he is going to be dropped, i wish it be clinical and curt without much nationwide discussion.
Like they way they dropped Waugh from the ODI team in aus.
I think he deserves to be sent away with grace and dignity.
And i also believe he is good enough to know if his time has come.
March 31st, 2006 at 7:48 am
PK
So going by your logic…Harbajan was the top scorer in the last game..go the Wall etc..ellam wasteah??
Bombayla top score..etc..ellam..chumma.!!
Question - Why did he play..why did they allow him to play even when he was injured…Why did they release the press note..the last day?? All surprises to me.!!
March 31st, 2006 at 7:55 am
NV sir,
harbhajan ayum sachin oda batting ayum compare panradhu maybe logical but not exactly sensible.
from what i read, its not the first time that players play on with mild niggling injuries.
wasim akram and co have played a number of matches taking injections and so on.
i can ask the same.
why not was he rested?
bcos thre is no replacement for him now…
even going by yr logic, this situation only illustrated what i am trying to say.
if they had a good/better replacement they wud’ve accepted readily and made sachin rest is my point.
March 31st, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Jeladhoshathukkellam dressing room-la oliya enga aal Sachin enna Ashish Nehra-va, illa Saurav Ganguly-a? Singam!
PK,
You have raised a question which none of the Sachin-bashers can/will answer. What the hell are the other players in the team doing? How many finals has Dravid won for India. How about the “young batsmen with ambition”?
We know how badly Dravid suffered in Australia. He struggled to cross single digit. Did we write him off?
And its totally unfair to say Sachin hasn’t performed in tests “when India needed him”. When has India not needed him? Or any other player for that matter. Don’t take the last two years and reverse engineer his whole career.
PK, IMO, its best that he retire now in an ungrateful country which has selective amnesia…..
Maybe had he been born in Australia, he would have been made to retire earlier, but his respect would have been intact. They know where genius is.
March 31st, 2006 at 4:33 pm
PK/Bala,
the issue is not about SRT’s contribution at all. Even in the Bangalore 2005 Test, SRT batted 98 balls for 16 to save the test and was blamed for playing it safe - we lost with 8 overs to go and if every other guy had batted 5 balls more, the series would have been won. The detractors would have then hailed SRT for the series win!
Turning back on a icon and asking for his head is stupid.
The disagreement here is on the blanket immunity provided to SRT. When SRT, VVS, MK all average around 25-30 in the last 10 tests, why shud the rest be under pressure to play a matchwinner while SRT takes his place for granted?
March 31st, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Lets not make too much of it and think about who will replace…the country will burn if he gets the axe, so the exclusion will never happen
March 31st, 2006 at 5:01 pm
Prem,
technical aspects definitely count in Test matches prem.
Gavaskar may have liked srikkanth but what is ris Srikkanth’s record in Tests?
March 31st, 2006 at 5:07 pm
talktative,
IMHO i dont think he is being immune. on the contrary he is always under the scanner bcos of his iconic status. Always here means ever since 1989. For the first time in his career he is going thru a lean phase. this is the truth.
March 31st, 2006 at 11:08 pm
Kris Srikanth’s test batting average is 29.88
The point is, it really doesn’t matter as long as you can make runs. As a selector would you pick an out of form, technically perfect batsman or an in form not so technical one ?.
March 31st, 2006 at 11:12 pm
prem
in tests, if u dont have a solid technique u will be found out soon.
consequently u will not be making too many runs is my point.
the only exception i thought was sehwag. he cud handle bcos of amazing hand eye coordination. but looks like even he is struggling now.
April 1st, 2006 at 6:20 pm
its better he retires without any hassles bfore he is thrown out. it is good to come out with pride.
April 1st, 2006 at 8:42 pm
Boys and girls.
I kept failing and they dropped me!
Why this special treatment for Sachin. No doubt he was a GOD for Indian cricket..but a new Avatar will come if he retires.
April 3rd, 2006 at 6:51 pm
what r u saying is right. i ve decided to retire.
April 3rd, 2006 at 10:55 pm
I think this question would be the most relevant under these circumstances.
I think even the sachin fans would agree that we don’t want a half-good sachin for 7 more years. All we are saying is that, we do’t want to be crying “foul” too early. Has he really weakened to a point where he cannot be contributing on a regular basis to the indian team ? Or is it just a bad run ? A bad run, that has been made to look like a failure by the fans turned detractors ?
If there is somebody who has clearly deserved a break from our loud mouths and our early foul calling, only by his performances through the years, it is sachin. Let’s give him a fair shot. That’s all I ask.
I believe that he can still contribute at the highest level. If he can’t do it, then you’re right, he should go !
April 4th, 2006 at 6:44 am
dinesh
Fair observation!i think u put it nicely and objectively while we sachin fans went berserk! danks man!