Time may have come for Tendulkar to concentrate on Tests

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More... As the tournament reaches its climax the thoughts of the master must be turning towards tomorrow, writes Peter Roebuck -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sachin Tendulkar must have much on his mind as he prepares for the finals of this triangular tournament. Not for the first time in a long and productive career his form has been under scrutiny. But he has survived worse spells and emerged intact. Over the years his weakness has also been his strength. His strongpoint has been his lack of ego, his willingness to serve. His weakness has been his lack of ego and inability to impose himself. By now Tendulkar knows these things and has learnt to live with them. It takes more than the imponderables of the game to upset him. If he has been lost in thought it is surely because for the first time in his career he is weighing up his options. Otherwise he’d hardly be human. India has been in Australia for an interminable time, moving from match to match, hotel room to hotel room, packing bags, emptying bags, filling in forms, catching flights, all the unseen things that happen between matches. He has been attending practices, batting in the nets, completing fielding drills, turning over an arm. After all these years it must be second nature to him, like packing a briefcase and catching a train. A life of this sort suits young fellows for whom every city brings fresh smells and sights. To them a tour is an adventure. Suddenly they are important as they are ferried in buses, interviewed, featured in advertisements. Suddenly they are playing with and against their heroes. It can happen quickly and sweep an impressionable youngster off his feet as decisively as any pretty girl. For a long time a cricketer may continue to enjoy the simplicities of touring life. Sportsmen relish the jokes, pranks, stories, laughter, sadness and privacy of the rooms. Listen to any retiring player and he will say how much he will miss that part of his experience. Has one amongst them mentioned missing the game itself? Eventually, though, the time comes when the call of family life is as strong, when the desire to sleep in your own bed returns. And then a travelling player starts to think about the sacrifices his wife and children have made to accommodate his spell in the limelight. Tendulkar is in most respects the same as other men. Just that he can bat as few have ever batted. But he has a family and a home and sometimes must yearn for them. Although players are constantly surrounded, cricket is a lonely game, especially on tour. As the weeks have become months, as another one-day match approaches before another expectant crowd, he must sometimes have wished for a quieter life. It is close at hand. Recently he saw the old hands go back home. Did part of him not wish to join them? The new bloods arrive and for a while their spirit must have carried him along. Tendulkar enjoys the company of the youngsters. He knows they look up to him and it makes him happy. It is never so easy with contemporaries, for anyone. But even the adulation of youth is finally not enough. And so as the tournament reaches its climax the thoughts of the master must be turning towards tomorrow. He might think the time has come to join Anil Kumble and others of his generation in concentrating on Test matches and letting the youngsters take care of the rest. It might not be a bad idea. He has done enough chasing around. It might also prolong a wonderful and recently rejuvenated career.

[Chandan]

Tendulkar is old enough and wise enough to take his decisions himself. I wonder why the authors worry for him and think about him so much all over the world. When he'll prefer to be with his family instead of being on a cricket field, he won't ask you Mr Roebuck! Stop thinking for him, for heavens sake!!

[Predator_05]

Tendulkar is old enough and wise enough to take his decisions himself. I wonder why the authors worry for him and think about him so much all over the world. When he'll prefer to be with his family instead of being on a cricket field, he won't ask you Mr Roebuck! Stop thinking for him, for heavens sake!!

Thinking about him is what he gets paid for...:D

[Anakin]

He should retire from ODIs, at least temporarily. It won't be a bad idea if he makes a comeback in ODIs a year before the WC if form and fitness permits.

[putrevus]

I think these finals will make his decision , if he does help India win the finals or he does score some major runs he will prolong his odi career or someone else will make decision for him.

[Anakin]

I think these finals will make his decision ' date=' if he does help India win the finals or he does score some major runs he will prolong his odi career or someone else will make decision for him.[/quote'] Nope, SRT has earned the right to decide for himself. And it's not like he is a burden on the team.

[Ram]

Sachin is good enough to play ODIs, fitness permitting, for as long as he wants. But for the sake of team building, he needs to bow out of the shorter form of the game by the end of this year, at the max. Most people who call for him to rested from one-dayers too, get obsessed with the fact that he is nearly 35, has played 400 games, but they tend to forget, he is STILL one of the best one-day batsman in the world. Obviously, there has been a concerted attempt on part of the new captain and the selection committee to build a team for the world cup, with the plan being that, by the time WC11 comes, we have a bunch of 22-28 year olds, all with a minimum of 80 matches experience, so that we have the best of both world, namely both youthful energy and experience. I dont see how Sachin can be part of this plan. My guess is that Sachin has already decided when he is go out.

[putrevus]

Nope' date=' SRT has earned the right to decide for himself. And it's not like he is a burden on the team.[/quote'] Nobody has earned the right to be greater than good of the team or game , but he has earned the right to be given proper send off with selectors giving him choice to retire gracefully like what Aussies did with Steve Waugh and Gilly, they both were informed you better retire before we drop you from the side and they both did and had farewell tours.

[Anakin]

Nobody has earned the right to be greater than good of the team or game ' date=' but he has earned the right to be given proper send off with selectors giving him choice to retire gracefully like what Aussies did with Steve Waugh and Gilly, they both were informed you better retire before we drop you from the side and they both did and had farewell tours.[/quote']Again, he is not a burden on the team. As long as that's true, he can decide for himself.

[putrevus]

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/340239.html Read this stats which clearly shows his drop in avg when chasing the drop is so huge it is like more than 30 runs drop , he avg 54 when setting up total and his avg drops to 29 when chasing , this Indian team is so young and it puts so much pressure on middle order.

[Anakin]

You can pick and choose a range of time and make every batsman look like an amateur. He was the 2nd highest run getter even last year, played vital innings in run chases in England, again played vital innings in the wins in this tourney. If you expect that every time, it's your problem. Also, who do you think would play better in those failed run chases?

[putrevus]

You can pick and choose a range of time and make every batsman look like an amateur. He was the 2nd highest run getter even last year' date=' played vital innings in run chases in England, again played vital innings in the wins in this tourney. If you expect that every time, it's your problem. Also, who do you think would play better in those failed run chases?[/quote'] Stats dont lie it does matter if you want to accept or not , He has been very bad in chasing and Dhoni and Yuvraj who coincidently have been very good in chasing but India have not been winning match while chasing becuase of pressure or losing early wickets.

[Anakin]

Stats dont lie it does matter if you want to accept or not ' date=' He has been very bad in chasing and Dhoni and Yuvraj who coincidently have been very good in chasing but India have not been winning match while chasing becuase of pressure or losing early wickets.[/quote']Again you're missing the point. You can manufacture stats anyway you like depending on various criteria. And what those stats won't tell you for example is the difference between SRT's and Dhoni's knocks in one of the great chases I've seen against pak in swinging conditions where IIRC Dhoni scored more or very close to SRT but the difference of class of batting in different conditions was too much to miss.

[bunny]

SG and RD were dropped because of some silly reasons. After seeing the form of VS if anybody still feels that SG doesn't deserve to open but at the same time claims that SRT should decide for himself, has to be a hypocrite.

[Anakin]

SG and RD were dropped because of some silly reasons. After seeing the form of VS if anybody still feels that SG doesn't deserve to open but at the same time claims that SRT should decide for himself' date=' has to be a hypocrite.[/quote']I never said SG doesn't deserve to be in the team for the record :haha::haha: In fact by dropping SCG, they've broken the best ever opening partnership that had a wonderful year. I understand their eagerness to blood youngsters, but it didn't have to be like this.

[kumble_rocks]

Another silly thread !

[sachin_fan]

Why do people keep thinking for sachin tendulkar. I am sure he has in his mind a time to give up each form of the game. Its best to leave things to him. With respect to people scrutinizing sachin's 2nd innings performances, its just plain short sightedness to give these as reasons for a batsmen to quit a game which he dominates. Assumin a 50, 50 probability of playing first vs playin second, plain statistics tell us that 5 out of his 10 matches, he is going to score more than 58 runs. I would have no 2nd thought on having such a player in my team

[bunny]

I never said SG doesn't deserve to be in the team for the record :haha::haha: In fact by dropping SCG, they've broken the best ever opening partnership that had a wonderful year. I understand their eagerness to blood youngsters, but it didn't have to be like this.

I was referring to the Indian selectors, team management and experts like Shastri, not you.