Tendulkar:hit or myth

[jf1gp_1]

every day a new sachin thread, every day same type of comments , this is unlikely to stop anytime soon this sums up national obsession with Sachin.

[bharat297]

every day a new sachin thread' date=' every day same type of comments , this is unlikely to stop anytime soon this sums up national obsession with Sachin.[/quote'] Maybe its because Sachin is about to become the greatest run scorer of all time, and we're getting ready to celebrate that feat by celebrating how good a player he has been. Did you ever think of that?

[fineleg]

Exactly. Sachin was the identity of India when we were known in the world only for the Taj Mahal and the snake charmers.

world? How many countries in the world play cricket seriously? (not the "china also plays cricket")

[fineleg]

every day a new sachin thread' date=' every day same type of comments , this is unlikely to stop anytime soon this sums up national obsession with Sachin.[/quote'] exactly.

[coffee_rules]

Exactly. Sachin was the identity of India when we were known in the world only for the Taj Mahal and the snake charmers.

That's a stretch. He is popular in countries where cricket is known. Countries like America, Argentina or Brazil, nobody would have heard about Tendulkar and they would know Taj Mahal or Gandhi.

[bharat297]

world? How many countries in the world play cricket seriously? (not the "china also plays cricket")

Ok I think he meant in the cricket playing world.

[bharat297]

I dont see what the big deal is about having many threads devoted to one of our greatest players of all time, just as he is about to break the world record for the most career runs.

[goose]

and again.

[Executioner]

Srt has no contribution to the cricket world but none can deny he was a class act but he lost a bit of respect when he did not retire when he should have. This is my perspective as a cricket fan and not like sachin fans who claim that they will stop following cricket when he retires. Cricket made SRT great and nit the other way around. India has many other class acts like kohli and pujara.

[Zanjeer]

Srt has no contribution to the cricket world but none can deny he was a class act but he lost a bit of respect when he did not retire when he should have. This is my perspective as a cricket fan and not like sachin fans who claim that they will stop following cricket when he retires. Cricket made SRT great and nit the other way around. India has many other class acts like kohli and pujara.

Without sachin, kohli or pujara wouldn't have played cricket. From 90s to early 2000s, India just relied on just one person. Whenever sachin got out, that's it, we knew the match was gone and switched off our tv sets . Even on the grounds, people would just leave when he got out. He was a part of our childhood. I don't think he delayed his odi retirement. He scored run a ball 56 freakin runs against Pakistan.

[namasteji1]

Hit till 2011, myth after that.

[Executioner]

@zanjeer it's true that kolhi idolized him but kohli deserves some due credit and its not India had legends like sunny and dev who were role models. Fact is that India used to be sachin dependant when they were a lower tier team in the early days and no one doubts his match winning abilities but people should remember that Sachin is not the first and probably not the last world class player India has produced. People need to get to stop giving heed to the myth that cricket is nothing without Sachin. These people are not cricket fans. They are blind sachin fans that will stop watching cricket when he retires.

[G_B_]

I dont think you understand executioner. Historically india has been a field hockey nation. Yes cricket was also played. The first major tilt in that was in the 1980s when India won its last olympic gold and Dev's India and Vengsarkar won key trophies in 1983 and 1985. But the fundamental gap between hockey and cricket today happens from a commercial and popular POV was because of Sachin. His rise as a player coincided with the explosion of cable television in India which went along with the liberalisation of the country from 1991. He was the face that cemented Indian cricket as the decfacto sport of India. You have to look at the context. Certain cities in India like Mumbai were always cricket cities. You can see that mumbai has 3 international standard grounds in its metropolitan area with BKC and Thane also having grounds which can be upgraded to international grounds. No other city in the world has that. I am sure as time progressed Mumbai metropolitan area will have 6-7 international standard grounds. But hockey was number 1 in areas such as punjab and jharkhand not to mention Orrissa. If we take out WB and Kerela where football is more watched its all cricket everywhere else. Even MSD was faced with the choice of field hockey and cricket. He chose the later. Thats what Sachin Tendulkar did. He gave the TV companies and international star they could identify with. That further spread the game. Maybe the impact of Sachin would be muted had we had a good ODI team in the 90s. He would not be etched in people's memories if not for that. The biggest reason why Sachin is the most popular is cause he has both a super limited overs and test record. Gavaskar was good in tests but sucked in ODIs. Dravid has good average but again strike rate sucked. Ganguly does not have a great test record. At the end of the day Indian fans in a vast majority are ODI and limited overs viewers. Sachin answered their calls in the 90s with the arrival of cable from the grey days of doordarshan

[G_B_]

Like to say, my father and grandfather (who sadly passed away) told me all this. Historically we come from a hockey family from Dhule in rural Maharashtra. My father still considers himself a hockey fan first. My grandfather worked in the initial stages of private cable network in India. That was his impression. That Sachin won the sporting war for cricket.

[bulbul]

1983 world cup.

[G_B_]

1983 world cup.

not many tv's bulbul and no cable. the funny thing is in my father's village in rural maha they first saw the 1983 win in the mid 90s as highlights on cable tv. No point winning stuff if the masses cant partake in it.

[bulbul]

^ It's not about TV alone. lot of things in India changed after Cable TV , not only cricket.

[G_B_]

^ It's not about TV alone. lot of things in India changed after Cable TV , not only cricket.

while that is true (for eg hockey was poorly managed and ofcourse astro turf) The impact of cable on sport in India and cricket in particular has been immense. BCCI gets its muscle from the TV figures.

[CSK Fan]

Yep, the way I have seen even daily laburor stop their work and stare at a TV screen when Sachin batted, I have seldom seen anything else like that. Also, around 83, people used to be glued to radios but most were cricket snobs, hardly common people and women. Once Sachin came to the fore, even women and children used to breathlessly watch him bat across India. Though I have to admit my mom was a big Kapil fan

[G_B_]

Yep' date=' the way I have seen even daily laburor stop their work and stare at a TV screen when Sachin batted, I have seldom seen anything else like that. Also, around 83, people used to be glued to radios but most were cricket snobs, hardly common people and women. Once Sachin came to the fore, even women and children used to breathlessly watch him bat across India. Though I have to admit my mom was a big Kapil fan[/quote'] Fair to say india did not have a middle class of note in those days either. Personally think Sachin will be eclipsed by Kohli in the limited overs and Pujara in the tests. But i dont think we are going to see a combo across the formats.