At the beginning of the year, I told one of my friends, "Tendulkar should retire after 2007 world cup. He has lost his touch". His reply was a classic. He exclaimed, "That's Atheism!". Well, after 3 ODI's the God has restored faith in this infidel. I got carried away with the media taking potshots at his poor run of scores and decided to join their army. But Tendulkar has answered his critics in a way only he could - Let his bat to the talking! But this post is not about this cricketing legend. He is above all criticism and praise and would never let such petty things affect his concentration. This post is about his critics, more so about the critics of these critics.
When Tendulkar reached a nadir scoring only a century in last 15 innings of his Test Cricket,(excluding the 200+ against Bangladesh) there were some brave souls who started questioning his form ? - something which the Indian media has rarely seen in the last 2 decades. So when Tendulkar regained his form in the first 3 ODIs, these critics were showered brickbats by the remainder. Apparently it's an unwritten rule in Indian cricket that you cannot question the capabilities of Tendulkar.
Every person should face his share of criticism and praise. Just because a person is head and shoulders above the rest, doesnt make him exempt from any harsh words. But there is a section of media which is almost ready to roast those who dared to raised their voice against the Little Master's slump. I am surprised that even people like Dileep Premachandran (cricinfo contributor who has at time inflicted loads of sarcasm and criticism on Indian cricket) were taking offense at headlines screaming "ENDulkar".
When Damien Martyn (Test avg 48.00) was dropped after one poor Ashes series or Michael Bevan's contract (ODI avg 53.58) was not renewed the news never even made the frontpage. When Ganguly was axed from captainship, the matter reached the Parliament !! In a land of Idol worshippers, I think it's people should learn to distinguish between those in flesh and those who are made of clay. If you can deify a mortal, you should also possess the courage to condemn them when they falter !
ps: Piyush's (Chakka) great compilation of cricket on google video
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
W-----ell, so Tendulkar has finally broken his silence with his bat, But I still feel that he's on THE decline from here onwards. Remember he's still not scored at his usual best in the tests, which for me is the REAL thing. Also, I always have felt that in the tests atleast, Sachs has never delivered in the crunch moments like Dravid. Remember, him getting out in the Chennai test in '98 when only 17 runs were needed to win and that too attempting a 3rd consecutive boundary off Saqlain! There can be endless arguements about why couldn,t the others not contribute, but its all irrelevant.Can u EVER imagine Ricky Ponting/Steve Waugh/Inzy/Micheal Vaughan etc attempting a similar thing? Where was Sachs when only 120 runs were needed in the final innings of the '97 Barbados test? Whenever he's scored a hundred, either its been for a lost cause or its been irrelevant for the teams chances. Thats not to take away from his greatness, but then if I were ever to choose an all time great test XI for India, Sachin will not definately not be in it!
I dont think his talent has ever been under question -- what is extremely shaky is his utility to the team
some sample cribs:
1. doesnt score in pressure situations
2. doesnt score well while chasing
3. slows down incredibly nearing 100
4. rarely has won a match for india
5. gets out to lousy bowlers converting comfortable situations into close, losing ones (out to razzaq three-four times in a series is abysmal)
This is not aussie....and ENDulkar was bullshit of nth order...tendulkar was injured for more than 6 months...dog..you shall burn in hell for supporting jackasses
Ah well... there seem to be some really long comments here, and in fear of my puny comment being ignored again, I was thinking about not commenting.
But I couldnt help agreeing with you on this point - foolish fan following who cant take criticism of their idols, especially when the criticism is well deserved. And who better to prove this point than Totti and his comment ;)
@DrSundeep, @Nice Try
I think you guys are being too harsh on Sachin. I can definitely remember innings like the "Desert Storm" in Sharjah, where he single handedly beat the Aussies. His innings in last World cup against Pak helped us chase 275. He might not be a great finisher, but generally when he is finished with a great innings, it doesnt take much efforts on his team mates to close the innings.
@Totti...I am not supporting anyone...I am just advocating fair criticism...and that 6 month injury is crap..they r professionals
I think Tendulkar is and will be the greatest ever cricketer to walk this earth.....only a 30th century Android might break his records
@Casa...I wonder what your reaction would have been if I had ignored ur comment again ***Evil Laugh **** ..Thanks for taking a shot at Totti ..he is not even a fan..he is just foolish....
Dude, read Sidin's guide to the greatest Indian cricketers of all time especially that period between 4 and 6 pm last week. Its extremely hilarious and you've got to look what he says about Sachin too.
"only a 30th century Android might break his records"
You want to qualify that statement and restrict your claims to ODI. His records in test cricket will be easily beaten by Ricky Ponting (you are not going to belittle a aussie, are you :-)!)
Nice collection of videos man, about the topic of the blog post I dont think this issue even deserves an iota of blog space, time or attention :)
@Anarkist..That blog is ridiculously funny..I am waiting for his part II
@Nice Try
Remember Ricky Ponting plays for Australia...He just needs one bad series and he would be shown the door. I would have agreed with you if he played for any other country.
@Rohan..
I beg to differ...I think Indian media is partial to Sachin, at times atleast
The only record Sachin holds in Tests is number of centuries, and in that, I would like to second nice try in that Ricky Ponting is surely gonna get ahead of Sachin. I don't see Ponting being dropped anytime soon (I know you are gonna say we didn't see Martyn being dropped either, but he was just a scapegoat for the Ashes loss and the next time the Aussies lose a series, clearly Ponting won't be the scapegoat.)
Anyway, getting back to Sachin's records in Tests, unless Lara retires soon, Sachin might not get to the record of most number of runs.
So, I think his records will stand for a while only in ODIs. Not in Tests.
Post a Comment