Cricket World Cup: Sachin Tendulkar - myth or man?

[praveen007]

By Suresh Menon
Bangalore-based journalist and
author of "Sachin: Genius
Unplugged"


"To us he is no more a person
Now but a whole climate of
opinion
Under whom we conduct our
different lives."
W H Auden, from his elegy to
Sigmund Freud
Tendulkar heads for his final net
ahead of the Saturday's World
Cup final
In India, Sachin Tendulkar
ceased being a person long ago.
To a small group of friends and
colleagues, he is human with all
the frailties that implies. But to
the vast majority he is merely a
figure on television,
indistinguishable from characters
such as Superman and Batman.
The illusion is strengthened by
the number of occasions he
arrives when the team is in
trouble and takes them to safety,
whipping out his killer straight
drive and unstoppable cover
drive to deal with the enemy's
vicious outswingers or off breaks.
When he does well his fans
discover that life has meaning
after all; when he fails
occasionally they feel suicidal.
Then he scores again and the
wheel is set in motion once
more. The cycle of birth and
rebirth is never seen more
clearly and more often than on
the cricket fields of India.
Auden's lines say it well. Being a
non-person means that your
ambitions are not your own.
Others decide how many runs
you should make before you
retire. It is always the next
milestone that is important.
On the eve of the World Cup
final, the ambitions have
crystallised. All Tendulkar's fans
ask for is that India win the title,
and that Tendulkar himself
scores his 100th international
century.

 

[praveen007]

Currently he has 51 centuries in
Tests and 48 in one-day
internationals. The next best
combined aggregate is former
Australia captain Ricky Ponting's
69. The adjective 'Bradmanesque'
will have to be replaced by
'Tendulkarine' for the next
generation.
In two decades, Tendulkar has
been both symbol of a resurgent
India, the coming powerhouse,
and one of the first sportsmen to
benefit from the changed
economic climate.
Asked on his first tour of
England in 1990 whether he
found the endorsements a
distraction, the 17-year-old
replied: "I am aware it is the
cricket that is bringing me these
opportunities. If I neglect that,
the other will slip away."
Now, a few weeks short of his
38th birthday, as he prepares for
his second final (after 2003) in
his sixth World Cup, it is easy to
imagine that even his rivals will
be hoping he gets a century. For
Tendulkar is that rare sportsman,
one who is worshipped beyond
boundaries as much for what he
brings to the game as a batsman
as for his demeanour as a
person.
Like Alexander the Great, he
has no more worlds to
conquer
"When fans call you 'God'," said
the Sri Lankan great Muthiah
Muralitharan, "it is difficult not
to believe it yourself, but Sachin
is the most grounded person I
know."
The campaign to award the
nation's highest civilian honour
to a sportsman might reek of
cuteness anywhere else, but in
India there is no embarrassment
in suggesting that Tendulkar be
placed in the same category as
the great leaders, scientists and
social workers.
This could well be Tendulkar's
last World Cup, but will it also
be his last one-day international?
It is a format of the game that
he caused to burst into life again
with a double century against
South Africa last year and by
taking India, the nerve centre of
the game, into the final of the
World Cup.
Like Alexander the Great, he has
no more worlds to conquer,
goes one argument. Tendulkar's
injured body parts have been
discussed more ardently than
Cleopatra's nose.
Since he was a boy of 16,
international cricket is the only
thing Tendulkar has known. His
idea of relaxation after a cricket
match is to play more cricket
matches. He is willing to bat
anywhere. At international
stadiums, neighbourhood parks,
even in his drawing room in the
days when his children were
growing up and were pressed
into service as bowlers.
Can such a man walk away into
the sunset merely because he
has achieved everything?

Link- news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/other_international/india/9443180.stm

 

[praveen007]

Sachin will get good night's
sleep, be his best tomorrow:
Dhoni
Press Trust of India Last
updated on Friday, 01 April 2011
22:56
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Mumbai:
Indian
skipper MS
Dhoni on
Friday said
that batting
maestro
Sachin
Tendulkar
would not
have an anxious night ahead of
the World Cup final at the
Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai,
although he is just one short of
his century of international
centuries.
"Ever since he made his debut in
1989, for the last 21 years the
whole of India has been
expecting him to score runs. I
don't think it's anything new,"
Dhoni said.
"He's achieved a lot and does
not need to do anything more.
He will have a good night sleep,
turn up on the field and be at
his best," he added.
Tendulkar, who has 51 Test tons
and 48 ODI hundreds, scored
two brilliant centuries against
England and South Africa in the
group stage of the tournament
but the magical third ton in the
Cup to reach the memorable
landmark has eluded him in the
semi-final against Pakistan in
Mohali where he made 85 runs.
"As I always say it's not about
the result, you can't control the
result. What you can control is
how you are preparing, and if
you are preparing well and if it's
your day, you can get big runs
and make your team win. No
point thinking about what
milestone you are supposed to
achieve," said Dhoni.
"The kind of individual that
Sachin is, he always thinks of
going on to the field and give his
best. It's his love and passion for
cricket. Every time he turns up
for practice or a game he's 100
per cent there.
"He gets there with a purpose
on mind. And till the time it does
not get resolved he does not
leave the field. With the talent
that he has got, more often than
not he gets it rectified within two
hours," the skipper added.
Further praising the legendary
batsman, Dhoni said Tendulkar's
attitude has not changed in the
last 21 years.
"He's an amazing person to
have. His attitude has not
changed in 21 years. Most
people would have lost interest.
With Sachin, God has made him
to play cricket and he's been
doing it for the past 21 years and
will continue to do for a few
more years to come," he
concluded.


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[Raja.Pakistani]

this is already been posted

I have request for indians to make one thread for Sachin and stick it there if they wish and praise him as much as they like but dont create new topic about sachin againa nd again