I like this article very much. Whatever u have told iis absolutely correct. He has to go back to his dominant & aggression way of his past. Because hez not an ordinary batsman. Hez Sachin! But the thing is, hez very weak mentally. This may be because of his physical fitness problems. He cannot tell all these things in the media as it may affect his career. That is why hez giving these lame excuses like maturity, responsibility & carefulness. I think he should be counselled properly and he should be made clear that even though he gets out early few times, hez not going to loose his place in the team. Even if hez playing safely, hez giving away his wickets cheaply only. So if I'm the coach of the team, I will do this properly. And one more thing is the author of this article has mentioned that in the past few years, his average is higher than his so called best period. That is absolutely false. I can prove it. 'coz I'm an ardent fan of Sachin whoz following him closely. See his average in the year 1998, as that is his best phase ever. Don't compare his overall ave during that period. Just see his ave of that period only. It will show the reall situation. I pray to god for Sachin.
nice article mate.but you cannot see the vintage tendulkar all the time since he is a human being and not a machine.times are bound to change and that is natural.
Sachin is THE GREATEST of all time ... why look at statistics ?? just watch him on TV that will make you realize that he is dragging along the entire team ....
kindly do not take up such frivolous views about the Maestro ...
The two major reasons Sachin stood out of the crowd of other stars like Mark Waugh, Brian Lara, De Silva etc. were style, and uniqueness.
By style, I mean several factors, the unorthodox shot that he makes seem orthodox because of his impeccably perfect body movement, the upright pose after a cover drive that he assumes for the extra moment to give the photographers their click-aways, the brisk walk, the humility and overt responsibility, giving credit to the ball rather than the bowler - I could go on.
To understand uniqueness as I see it, you would have to watch a certain South Africa-India ODI in 1997 or 98, where the scoreboard ran a statistic showing all the textbook shots, and how many times in that century innings Sachin had played each one. The one zero in that, the reverse sweep, was immediately raised to 1 a ball later. It was said that Sachin knows three perfect shots to every ball, and the way he gets out is by innovating a fourth. His uncanny ability to invent and modify shots, like the fine-leg paddle and the straight defence which goes for a four at long on, and play them effortlessly endeared him to everyone, not his statistics.
I disagree with the point of view of Mr. Ranganathan. There's a difference between how the mind of a 17 year old ticks, that of a 27 year old ticks and that of a 31 year old. Sachin's double century in Sydney and 197 in Multan are examples of a great player's ability to play long and supportive innings. You may remember Richards as the King - perhaps even I would. But Sachin is a God and even Lord Krishna had to mature and put back his childhood antics at some point of time. same is the case with this God.
For those who wanna argue, first refute this statement from Alan Donald(who knew a bit more abt good batters than most of us) - "Considering the huge amount of pressure he plays in, Sachin is the best cricketer to walk on this planet" - courtesy Espn Star.
I agree with Sriram's assessment. Tendulkar has grown old & might not have the energy to get down the wicket to every bowl that Warne bowls, but the terror factor that he inflicted in the minds of bowlers at his peak is fast diminishing & even lesser bowlers (part-times, if I may say) also fancy their chances against the greatest player of this time, when they should be looking for fielders covering the boundaries. It's a pity that Tendi's reputation has taken a 180.
I sincerely wish that Tendulkar regains his murderous instinct & reinforces the demons in the minds of the bowlers the world over again.
Mr. Ranga I agree with some of your comments but all is impossible to take inside. Out of other many things the first on which I dont concur is that you have compared Tendulkar with Richards,from your article it seems that you are biggest fan of "Little Champion's" aggression or in simple words you like his aggression.Well!!! Mr Ranga do you all the 4 world cups Tendulkar has played? If not then look at their videos and see his aggression and satisfy yourself.Moreover there was a time when Tendulkar used play far BETTER(its your meaning of better)but do you remember he got his 1st century after 79matches.Just think which Tendulkar you want........a man with responsibility or a man just like apnaa Veeru Bhai.............
im a hardcore fan of tendulkar but i fully agree to what u said.what the real reason for this transformation only the great man can tell but u do miss his old audacity at the crease.lets hope he plays some of his breath taking knocks in the forthcoming matches once he is fit.
Woderful Article on Sachin's Career. I really love tendulkar better than anybody else, but recent times have doubt in my mind. This reflects well in this article. Thank You for your elegant analysis.
