Tendulkar

Much has been written about Sachin Tendulkar. He has been placed on a pedestal as the "Genius" and as the "Little Master" by the Indian cricket fans for more than a decade now. I am not a fan nor am I posting this in criticism of him.

I am reacting based on a news article that said that he was booed all the way back from the field at Wankhede stadium.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/21/stories/2006032110371800.htm

Nirmal Shekar in this article comes to the conclusion that "Sportslovers have lost the capacity to look at the larger picture ..."

Here's my somewhat different view of the larger picture:

While the booing is inexcusable, it is but a natural adjustment considering how high Indian sports fans had placed Sachin. The reaction of the crowd doesn't say much about Sachin, it says how big a bubble they had blown around him and now that it burst in their faces, they're but angry.

3 good things about Sachin -
1. He has played some spectacular innings - spectacular not just in its execution and endless entertainment value to the Indian viewer, but also in its importance to his career
2. He carries himself as a gentleman
3. He has more years in him as a player

The above 3 are only tangentially helpful to the Indian team and this is where I think he should do better.

Nirmal in his article says:
"The point is, Tendulkar never promised any of us a masterly century in every innings that he might get to play. We were the ones who set that impossible goal for the little man. That he has failed to meet that unrealistic goal is no sheen off his greatness; it merely throws light on our own foolishness. "

I (and I speak only for myself here) have never expected Sachin to score a century in every match. When he walks to the crease, I always hope that I would see the genius within him in action, but have never expected it as a matter of right or should I say demanded it. But in the few matches that I have seen him play lately, he seems listless and returns from the crease with many a times, a single digit score. This too is inexcusable, especially when the team's coach says that every member of the team earns his place in the team by performing well. If Sachin is ready to play, why does everybody assume he should be in every match India plays. Let him play in a few. Let him sit out a few. Let him perform (by this I don't mean a masterful century, I just mean a signifcant contribution towards the team - batting, bowling or fielding) and them take him on more frequently. If Ganguly can be dropped (and rightly so), then Sachin too should face this prospect.

Sachin has inspired more than just a few generations - starting from my grandfather - an avid armchair cricket fan to kids who are in the middle school now. And in this way he has been precious.

But there comes a time as in the case with the Concorde (the plane that cemented a place for itself in the history books by showing how fast Man could fly), when Man needs to look to the future and see who or what will be the star in the next chapter in history. May be the Concorde isn't done yet, may be it is.


QOTD

"[Sprezzatura ("unstudied nonchalance"):] Employ in everything a certain casualness which conceals art and creates the impression that what is done and said is accomplished without effort and without its being thought about. It is from this , in my opinion, that grace largely derives."
-- Baldassare Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier, 1528