The Magnificent Case of Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar has broken yet another batting record. This might sound monotonous and predictable but it is still a tremendous achievement. The great man has scored the first ever double century in One Day International cricket.

I would like to share something I wrote sometime last year when he completed 20 years in international cricket.

The Magnificent Case of Sachin Tendulkar

In his first test match at Karachi in 1989, he was left with a bloody nose and a blood soaked t-shirt. His crime? He had dared to attempt a cover drive against the fastest bowler in the world Waqar Younis, he had dared to not be intimidated by Imran Khan and Wasim Akram in their own back yard. The audacity of the 16 year old boy shocked the world as he refused to leave the field, deciding instead to bat on and fight it out. If test cricket is what differentiates the men from the boys, then there never was a more quintessential example as a 16 year old boy proved his manhood. 20 years, 30000 runs and about 80 international centuries later, we know that boy as Sachin Tendulkar, a legend, a phenomenon, a champion.

Although I was first introduced to cricket back in 1992, I had very little understanding other than the fact that I was to celebrate like everyone else around me then and not ask too many questions. It was not until 1995 that I began to understand the game a little better, began to understand the concept of bat and ball. Very soon I had also learnt to be jealous of the fact that the best batsman in the world was an Indian. Nope, no way, Saeed Anwar was a better batsman, and soon the world will acknowledge.

This continued for a couple of years, when I would vociferously argue about Saeed Anwar’s superiority over Sachin Tendulkar and I had good reason to because for a couple of years in the mid 90s, they were neck and neck in terms of the number of ODI centuries. Back then, Desmond Haynes held the record for most ODI centuries and I was hoping Anwar would break his record before Tendulkar and prove to the world that the best batsman in the world played in the Pakistan cricket team. Alas, that was not too be as Anwar suffered a slump in form and Tendulkar went to not only break the record but leave Anwar way behind in terms of number of centuries.

Around this time, I also realized that not only was Tendulkar ahead of Anwar in ODIs, he was also way ahead of him in Test cricket. Australia toured India around this time for a test series hailed as Warne vs Tendulkar, the best spinner in the world vs the best batsman in the world. I was obviously on Warne’s side, hoping he would win the battle and prove once and for all that Tendulkar was no big deal. Alas once again Tendulkar broke my heart as he darted Warne all over the park in that series like a school boy and such was the effect of the maestro on Warne that he later admitted to having nightmares of Tendulkar coming down the track and smashing him.

I had to find someone else. This someone else happened to be the burly Inzamam ul Haq, who had been hailed by no less than Imran Khan himself as an equal of Tendulkar and Lara. Yes, I had found my new hero, Inzamam was the best batsman in the world.

My argument this time? Inzamam’s ability to win matches for Pakistan, his ratio of match winning centuries much superior to Tendulkar’s. I would listen to Imran Khan speak about Inzamam and then copy those arguments in my case for Inzamam, he was a great player of fast bowling, has so much time, and has tremendous ability to handle pressure.

Amidst all this, there was also a weak cricket fan inside me, who for some reason enjoyed Sachin Tendulkar’s batting, who wanted him to score runs, score centuries, win matches, just for the sheer pleasure of watching a champion perform like a champion. It was a strange contradiction, because on one hand I wanted him to be dismissed especially when he was playing against Pakistan, but at the same time, I wanted to just watch him bat, play those exquisite cover drives.

It is a contradiction that I have had to live for a long time. Tendulkar has hurt me many times, his innings at Centurion against Pakistan in 2003 ensured in Pakistan’s humiliating ouster in the first round. I remember a shot he played against Wasim Akram in the first over, a back of a length ball bowled by Wasim, which has often given him wickets, timed with perfection and placed with disdain between cover fielders for a four. That was in the first over, and that told me that the champion was at his best today, and that mean he could dismantle a bowling attack comprising of Wasim, Waqar and Shoaib, which is exactly what he did.

By this time, his mastery, excellence and sheer genius had finally broken me, I began to believe without any shame and hesitation, that he was truly the best batsman in the world, a champion, a character worthy of respect and admiration. My mother had once told me a long time back when I used to be furiously jealous of Tendulkar that she could not help but admire him. Soon I began to admire the genius as well.

Today I no longer have to fight any contradictions inside me. In 2004 he was unbeaten on 194 against Paksistan in Rawalpindi when Rahul Dravid declared the innings and it upset me as I knew he deserved a double century that day. I have no shame in acknowledging that there is Brian Lara, Inzamam ul Haq, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid, and then a few notches higher, there is Sachin Tendulkar, if not in terms of cricketing talent, then in terms of his impeccable commitment, sheer strength of character and utmost humility.

That sums up Sachin Tendulkar for me. Today, when the world stands up and celebrates 20 years of Sachin Tendulkar, I feel proud because the best batsman in the world today is also my hero.

Test Cricket - the need for a cohesive and brave administrative body.

Ever since Twenty20 has made cricket, what was once known as a gentleman's game, said to cater only to a small audience into a mass oriented, entertaining sport, there has been constant debate and discourse about the future of Test and One Day International cricket.

Not surprisingly, cricketers, fans, analysts all over the world reacted in just the way people usually do when something new arrives. There were those who were vehemently opposed it, and then there were those who welcomed it instantly, while there were those who were somewhere in the middle, unsure, deciding instead to wait and see a bit of Twenty20 before they made their call. Two World Cups, IPL and ICL seasons later, many of who were initially in purgatory made their move towards Twenty20 cricket. The success of the recent World Cup brought cricket the much needed enthusiasm and excitement that was missing for a long time, but more importantly it brought in the moolah.

However, the original critics of Twenty20, who are usually the ones who fear the death of test cricket have not been deterred. This debate was recently once again brought to our attention by the MCC World Cricket Committee Meeting at Lords. The meeting ended with an alarming conclusion – Test Cricket is dying. This however is not new at all. Experts and former players have been talking about the decline in quality and as a result interest in test cricket for quite some time now. One of the main reasons which was cited was the growing gap between Australia and the rest of the world resulting in one sided matches. Another reason was the decline of once strong test sides like Pakistan and West Indies, and the sub standard performances of minnows Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. These are all cricketing issues that could be worked up. Australia is no longer unbeatable with Warne and McGrath gone, and the recent successes of India and South Africa against the World Champions have definitely improved the state of affairs. Pakistan and West Indies have a lot of internal issues which are behind the decline in their standard of cricket which one hopes is a temporary affair and will be resolved soon. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, unfortunately have not shown any signs of improvement, and in the opinion of many experts, do not deserve to play at the highest level. This may be true.

However, the meeting concluded that the most dangerous threat posed to test cricket comes not from cricketing issues but the roaring success of Twenty20 leagues such as the IPL, Twenty20 World Cups, and the individual financial benefit for cricketers, which might result in pre mature retirements. Recently, the cricketing world got a shock when West Indies captain Chris Gayle unapologetically stated that Twenty20 is more enjoyable and Test cricket and is the future.

In order to revitalise the game of Test Cricket, a World Test Championship was proposed. This is not the first time this idea was put forward, for back in 1999, Jagmohan Dalmiya, then the President of ICC, worked hard to introduce such a Championship to no avail. He was however, successful in having the first Asian Test Championship, which has been played twice so far but has not been the success it was expected to be. The World Test Championship, according to many, including Rahul Dravid and Steve Waugh, would be successful and incorporate the much needed competitiveness and “something to play for”.

From now onward, whether test cricket will die or not depends not on the popularity of Twenty20 cricket but on the way the administrative bodies, mainly ICC treat test cricket and work on its future.

Let us face some facts. Test Cricket has never been a major crowd puller outside of England, Australia and to a certain extent South Africa. Despite the constant talk of cricket being a religion in the Indian subcontinent, it has always been the shorter version of the game, the ODIs which were the major draw. Therefore, it would be immature to expect test cricket to attract crowds now suddenly, especially with the advent of IPL in India.

On the other hand, ICC along with the respective bodies of Pakistan and Bangladesh need to seriously look into their first class cricket and ways to improve the state. Pakistan’s descent over the last few years has been most striking. The state and quality of the pitches, the standard of the first class league and the quality of the batsmen Pakistan have been producing over the last 2-3 years have all been diminishing. Test cricket there is no longer a contest between bat and ball but a contest between the stamina of the two batting sides – who can bat longer. It is no wonder then that Pakistan have failed to win a test match in Australia for over a decade now, and have lost test series in England and South Africa.

If we can look back at test cricket’s golden age in the 70s and 80s, we learn that quality and standard of test cricket had very little to do with number of test playing nations.

I do not think that the popularity of Twenty20 will translate in more test playing nations nor is it desirable. Twenty20 is necessary to keep cricket alive, but should not be used to increase the number of test playing nations. World Test Championship will hardly make any difference if the gap between an Australia and a Bangladesh remains this wide. Schemes such as a championship will only prove to be successful if the main administrative body recognizes that all it needs to do is to lessen the gap in the quality of first class cricket between nations. Within a few years we will see much more evenly balanced contests, not only between nations but also between bat and ball and test cricket will once again be a true test of mettle and a World Test Championship will truly be something to look forward to.