Judge Tendulkar by today's standards

[zubinpepsi]

a very nice article by harsha.. ------------------ Harsha Bhogle During a break at Wimbledon this year, Martina Navratilova said something very interesting about champion players. “It’s not about how good they are when they are playing well, it’s about how good they are when they aren’t playing well.†It is a statement that is staggeringly true because not everyone can play well at all times in a career. Most good players look excellent when they are playing well and ordinary when not. The truly great always seem to have something to offer even when their game has dropped a couple of notches. That is just one reason why it has been fascinating to watch Sachin Tendulkar at Nottingham. We have condemned Tendulkar to beauty and greatness. That is a heavy burden to carry and he has done it with some style over many years. But neither Jordan nor McEnroe nor Woods have been able to look unbeatable all the time. And Tendulkar cannot look unbeatable anymore unless he wills the clock back. Nobody we know has been able to do that. But unlike a Borg, Tendulkar is looking mortality in the eye and is willing to scrap. And so if we are willing to judge him differently, we will still be able to savour his skill and let the heart skip a beat. We need to judge him as he is today, as indeed we must Ganguly, and not by the near insurmountable standards he achieved at his peak. The problem is with us for we worshipped him like a god and now condemn him for not living up to godliness!! And so if we are willing to look upon Tendulkar as a character actor, as a piece in an ensemble, we will look back with much joy at his 91 at Nottingham. Remember there are young men trying to knock his head off and he is fighting an equal battle. It was a good tough innings and it contributed to an Indian win. So too with Anil Kumble whose character shines every time he steps onto the field for India. His batting has declined alarmingly but not his grit; and his thirty runs, chiselled out with no fanfare were invaluable. And he continues to take wickets. Tendulkar and Kumble represent the admirable face of sport, often in short supply these days. I would like to believe that to be on the field, in the dressing room, in the team bus, at dinner with them would be priceless education for some others in this side. Sadly Sreesanth, a fine, gifted cricketer, but one with an eye on the camera as much as on the batsman, is letting this experience go by. Tendulkar and Kumble are willing to look less than perfect for the performance that will benefit the team. Sreesanth is showing a sad ability to concentrate on being a performer of another kind and is hurting the team and himself. Sport has no place for those who squander ability. And I am afraid team India should soon have no place for show ponies when at last they are looking like a team of scrappers. Sreesanth is a passionate young man who has been gifted an ability that is rare. But like some young men before him, he is showing a tendency to play to the gallery. It is the fastest way to ruin. It might help him to get off the media for a while, ignore the fringes of success and return to the main menu. I hope he realises that in the sport he so obviously loves, it is his performance and not his antics, Johannesburg not Nottingham, that will win him respect. And I hope the test at Nottingham is remembered for the tough cricket on view, not for some of the puerile, childish stuff we saw. Peter Moores wants the stump microphones turned down so we don’t hear what his players say. It might just be easier not to say it! And if he heard some of the things being said, he might have worried about the intelligence of the boys playing for him. India contributed as well and I hope at the Oval we see more of the brilliant bat vs ball contests we have had at Lords and Nottingham and rather less of the lip. In effect, more of the Zaheer Khan kind of cricket. In all the years I have seen him play, I have never seen him bowl better. He looked relaxed in delivery stride and there was a fine rhythm to his bowling.More than anything else, he was consistent. There’s a story there for people who want to see it. Cut the frills and put in the yards and wait for the knock on the door.

[Chandan]

I think Harsha is correct. If the fans will lower their expectations, their have less heartburns! But somehow I get the feeling that it is his critics who expect too much from him. Hence the extreme criticism! What do you say?

[Guest BossBhai]

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[sandtest]

Judge Tendulkar by today's standards

Tendulkar is God --personified with cricket bat manifested in His hand. And God is beyond the words like judgements..:D Having said that, I am sure Tendulkar's recent performance has proved, he will stay in the team ONLY by the virtue of his "performance". And Tendulkar knows best when he has to call it a day. At the moment his performance is fully justifying place in the team....so we should stop debating about his position in the team. Many like me started watching cricket with devotion because Tendulkar avatar at the age of 16, arrived at cricket field. hail the God, may He protect us in next match with yet another century.

[zubinpepsi]

I think Harsha is correct. If the fans will lower their expectations, their have less heartburns! But somehow I get the feeling that it is his critics who expect too much from him. Hence the extreme criticism! What do you say?

its also cuz of the critics..they kindle his supporters by quesioning n digging up his match winning capability and his change in batting aggresion.. and thus making his fans frustrated abt his batting.. harsha is also right about sreesanth.... he shud focus more on how to bowl well rather than focusing on the camera.. for me he seems to be a big show pony... who goes out n says he writes letter to god everynite b4 match and wished he shud be the one to win the match... and holding indian cap all nite.. bla bla bla.... dude cut the crap.. n bowl properly... no one is gonna question ur commitment and passion...

[yoda]

That is quite true Chandan ..... any cricket connoisseur worth his salt would know what it takes to play like SRT does and would have nothing but admiration for the great man. Its the critics and the ones with the crab mentality who try to bring him down for some weird reasons.

No fan has a special axe to grind any specific player. It all comes down to performance. When the guy averages pathetically series after series, that is no weird reason, rather a valid reason. The real weird ones are the "worshippers" that we have as fans who think he is beyond the team., even if he keeps sucking that he absolutely needs to play, turning a blind eye to his on field performance and thinks our players deserve NO CRITICISM unless of course it comes from themselves for weird reasons of their own.

[sandtest]

^^ So you want Tendulkar to be dropped....but how ?...his performance? :confused_smile: If his recent perfromance is not enough for his place.....*more confused*

[Guest BossBhai]

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[living]

None. SRT is GOD. That was easy.

[Donny]

Tendulkar is God --personified with cricket bat manifested in His hand. And God is beyond the words like judgements..:D

And therein lies SRT's biggest burden to carry. By today's standards ? I think the ratings have it about right. 17th. in Tests but I'd rate him a bit higher than his rating of 21st in ODIs

[yoda]

^^ So you want Tendulkar to be dropped....but how ?...his performance? :confused_smile: If his recent perfromance is not enough for his place.....*more confused*

He was pretty pathetic before the SA series and deserved to be dropped at that point. He had a decent SA series relative to other bats and has now redeemed himself with the 91, although his average for this series is still well below par. In short, he is no god and deserves to be looked at like any other player, simply based on performance, not last innings, but recent performance.

[yoda]

name some Indian players that have scored earthshatteringly more runs than SRT in the past say 6-7 months . take both ODIs and Tests ...

we criticize them as well.

[talksport]

The latest Fashion : Write an article on Tendulkar

[Anakin]

Not really, it's always been profitable to write anything about tendu or too much fun making him the scapegoat for no matter what. And one is a worshipper if he/she doesn't go with that flow.

[talksport]

I think he is in Peak form in todays standards....

[Chandan]

we criticize them as well.

This is quite confusing Yoda. Do you want an Indian team without any players??

[yoda]

This is quite confusing Yoda. Do you want an Indian team without any players??

You guessed it right. Yes. I want a team with no (non-performing) players.

[talksport]

yoda is crazy

[Anakin]

Only a little bit :haha:

[kumble_rocks]

Good to see something in common between ICF and PakPassion which is , the number of Sachin threads.:regular_smile: