I know my body. I would do whatever is needed for the World Cup: Tendulkar

[Gunner_Mania]

Boy o boy 21 years for India and people calling themselves his biggest fan think he is playing cricket for the money.

[rahulrulezz]

Boy o boy 21 years for India and people calling themselves his biggest fan think he is playing cricket for the money.

thats the difference between Afridi worshippers and us... We don't blindly agree with our superstar

[nospam]

Thank you Bhagwan!

[Guest Hiten.]

thats the difference between Afridi worshippers and us... We don't blindly agree with our superstar

Just to segregate yourself with the Afridi worshippers, you're actually gonna question everything ? :cantstop: Perhaps, the afridi-dites are more sensible than you folks :hysterical:

[The Dark Horse]

The last thing he wants is money, may be he wanted to represent Mumbai on the world stage- which is fair enough.

[rahulrulezz]

Just to segregate yourself with the Afridi worshippers' date=' you're actually gonna question everything ? :cantstop: Perhaps, the afridi-dites are more sensible than you folks :hysterical:[/quote'] Booboo... do you actually get high just from a medium Tim Hortons coffee:cantstop: ... Dude, I am not questioning his batting..I am questioning his attitude for Indian cricket... If he is willing to play all freaking 13 games in IPL and all games in CL then whats wrong in playing couple of ODIs for "INDIA"... but whatever man.. whom am I tring to explain..You blind worshippers damage the reputation of us Indian fans posting stupid comments like Sachin is God, Sachin is perfect on cricinfo board and criticizing everyone who says anything slightly against Sachin...try to take some constructive criticism as well... P.S. BooBoo, I still love you:icflove:

[The Dark Horse]

Cronje was the bowler who tested me the most: Tendulkar ondon: Move aside the Glenn McGraths and Muttiah Muralitharans, the only bowler who has tested Sachin Tendulkar to an extent that the Indian batting icon "didn't know what to do" while facing him was stunningly the late Hansie Cronje! The ex-South African captain, who died in a plane crash after being banned for match-fixing, was the one man Tendulkar found hard to deal with and bowling technique had nothing to do with it. "Honestly. I got out to Hansie more than anyone. When we played South Africa he always got me out more than Allan Donald or Shaun Pollock. It wasn't that I couldn't pick him it's just that the ball seemed to go straight to a fielder," Tendulkar said. Cronje, primarily a middle-order batsman, was efficient with his medium pace fetching 43 wickets in 68 Tests and 114 ODI wickets in 188 matches before his spectacular fall from grace owing to the 2000 match-fixing scandal in which he was the prime accused. He died in a plane crash in 2002. Tendulkar said facing Cronje was always a tricky proposition for him. "I was going great guns in Durban one year and played some big shots against Donald and Pollock. Hansie came on and I flicked his first ball straight to leg-slip. I never knew what to do with him," he said. Tendulkar once again named McGrath as the best fast bowler he ever faced and despite dominating Shane Warne, the Indian icon considered the Aussie to be the best spinner he came across. "I did OK against him (McGrath). But, among the spinners, Warne at his best was still something special," he said. The 37-year-old batsman, who has spent over 20 years in international cricket, is often compared to Sir Don Bradman and Tendulkar recalled some special moments he spent with the late Australian legend. "We went to see him on his 90th birthday. It was very special. We were talking about averages and I said, 'Sir Don, if you were playing today, what would you have averaged?' And he said, '70 probably. I asked, 'Why 70 and not your actual average of 99?' Bradman said, 'Come on, an average of 70 is not bad for a 90-year-old man.' "This is what I tell my son. Whether you're an 11-year-old boy or Don Bradman we should never forget it's just a game we can all enjoy." His passion for the sport is well-documented and Tendulkar said even after spending over two decades in the international arena, he tries to re-invent himself. "I'm really focusing now on how I can get to the next level as a batsman. How can I get even more competitive? How can I get even more consistent? How can I get better?, Tendulkar pointed out. The diminutive batsman said going past the 14,000 runs mark earlier this year was one of the big moments of his career but he never lets the thoughts of achieving milestones overshadow what is actually required of him in a match situation. "It was a big moment...But I was most aware of the match situation," said the right-hander who had arrived at the wicket with India 38 for two in reply to Australia's first innings of 478. "And then it flashed on the big screen that I needed eight runs to reach 14,000. Every run I scored was cheered. But when I needed two I hit a boundary. I was happy but I thought, 'right, now we can get back to focusing on cricket', because everyone had become too worried about those eight runs. It had taken away my focus." "Yes. Obviously, going past Brian Lara was something special. But I'm even happier now and hopefully it continues." Talking about the changing face of the game, Tendulkar said Australia are in decline after retirements of their heavyweights. "To not have (Matthew) Hayden, (Justin) Langer, ( Adam) Gilchrist, (Glenn) McGrath, (Shane) Warne - it's a big loss. They still have some world-class players but their batting revolves around (Ricky) Ponting. When you want to create a vacuum in their batting you need to get Ponting," he said. Tendulkar feels given Australia's loss of aura, England are serious contenders to lift the Ashes this time. "I think England have a better chance. I favour them slightly. I would say (Eoin) Morgan could be the key performer in the Ashes. Morgan and (Graeme) Swann," he said. "He (Morgan) is a very solid player who can control the pace of his innings. He can become a really good Test batsman even though he has only played a few Tests so far. After Morgan you've got the experience of (Andrew) Strauss, (Paul) Collingwood and Pietersen. They're a really well-balanced side and this is a great opportunity for England," he added. India is one of the co-hosts of next year's World Cup and Tendulkar said the pressure would be of an altogether different level. "It's going to be massive. Everyone in India is looking forward to a mega tournament and although people haven't started talking yet about 1983 (the last time India won the World Cup) it will happen soon. But, given our recent form, people have a right to be excited and have extremely high hopes," he said. http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/news/article?id=item/2.0/-/story/cricket.yahoonews.com/cronje-was-bowler-who-tested-me-most-tendulkar-20101030/

[Sir john]

cronje was a very handy cricketer i have ever seen.

[Precambrian]

Thats not the point These are international ODIs we are talking about, where you represent your country, and not some pratice matches. He is happy to rest most of ODIs, but find the fitness to slog it out in IPL and CL Atleast, he can be honest here instead of giving lame reasons, like these were last minute decisions, i wonder why didnt such last minute decisions didnt come for IPL/CL but before almost every ODI tournament.

Definitely CL and IPL games have more visibility and importance than the dime a dozen ODIs against Sri Lanka.... Also IPL and T20 games in general takes less toll on the body;.. for the simple fact that you play 60% lesser overs... Sachin has distributed his load nicely allround the year in the last few years... so he is never too much pressurised, nor he is completely out of touch with the game....

[Precambrian]

SRT has no option but to play in IPL as ordered by BCCI ... infact it applies to all the big cats in Indian cricket ... otherwise the IPL would have fizzled out ... while SRT has the clout to say no to them but it would ruffle too many feathers and create un-necessary conflict ... so in light of all this he decided to play in the jujubi tontee-tontee and take equivalent time out by cutting down on meaningless odi's I cant believe people dont get such a simple thing. But what is hilarious is that tontee-tontee fans harping about "Representing the country" and all that heavy stuff.... Well if you care about those things the very first step you should do is to stop supporting the krap that is otherwise called tontee-tontee. Because while SRT has found a way to not compromise with Test cricket many of the yengsters will simply not bother about Test match skills if this tontee-tontee cancer spreads ... I will hold my breath for the whistle poodus and amchi mumbai baiz to answer my question.

Absolutely spot on. People are talking as if IPL is an untouchable thing, while in fact, it is as Indian as it comes, and players like Tendulkar playing 100% of it means domestic upcoming players get to play against or with legends of the game, and thereby improve their own game as well. To be frank, I'd prefer Sachin doing that rather than play in ODI every thursday against the Dilharas and the Dilshans. It's funny how people moan about Sachin and senior cricketers. If they play only international cricket, they're accused of being money hungry and ignoring domestic cricket, now when they're preferring domestic cricket (IPL is 100% domestic cricket), they are being accused of not being "loyal" to their nation. What tripe. I wish Tendulkar concentrated solely on IPL and CL and test cricket post Wc 11..

[Precambrian]

Booboo... do you actually get high just from a medium Tim Hortons coffee:cantstop: ... Dude, I am not questioning his batting..I am questioning his attitude for Indian cricket... If he is willing to play all freaking 13 games in IPL and all games in CL then whats wrong in playing couple of ODIs for "INDIA"... but whatever man.. whom am I tring to explain..You blind worshippers damage the reputation of us Indian fans posting stupid comments like Sachin is God, Sachin is perfect on cricinfo board and criticizing everyone who says anything slightly against Sachin...try to take some constructive criticism as well... P.S. BooBoo, I still love you:icflove:

Are you working in the army or the defence forces? If you aren't why? How are you then qualified to question Sachin's decison? pS- Sachin is a wing commander with Air Force btw

[The Dark Horse]

Didnt see the other thread, merge it pls, my bad.

[RamP]

what about olago, monty, and more recently peter george. our man gets out to the least threatening of bowlers

[fineleg]

SRT has no option but to play in IPL as ordered by BCCI ... infact it applies to all the big cats in Indian cricket ... otherwise the IPL would have fizzled out ... while SRT has the clout to say no to them but it would ruffle too many feathers and create un-necessary conflict ... so in light of all this he decided to play in the jujubi tontee-tontee and take equivalent time out by cutting down on meaningless odi's I cant believe people dont get such a simple thing. But what is hilarious is that tontee-tontee fans harping about "Representing the country" and all that heavy stuff.... Well if you care about those things the very first step you should do is to stop supporting the krap that is otherwise called tontee-tontee. Because while SRT has found a way to not compromise with Test cricket many of the yengsters will simply not bother about Test match skills if this tontee-tontee cancer spreads ... I will hold my breath for the whistle poodus and amchi mumbai baiz to answer my question.

Agree with you Boss Bhai. The only thing is - I wish he had said No to the BCCI Babus I.Pu.L. or C.L. even though it would ruffle feathers. Those ruffled feathers cannot do anything to SRT - they cannot touch him. But, you are right, all the top players are probably under extreme pressure from the morons of BCCI. But neverthless, now that Cricket Australia is also 'attracting foreign investments' - this Tontee Tontee will take over the cricketing calendar and good bye to Tests. Tailunted Rohit Sharma will be the player of the decade - Long Live Tontee Tontee 'leagues' :mad:

[CSK Fan]

He would do whatever is needed for the World Cup, by playing all IPL and CL tournaments, but skipping most international ODIs good logic :giggle:

At least read the article before making a complete fool of oneself "The decision to skip the last two ODI series was taken at the last moment and was not pre-decided. so no, as you claim he did not decide that he is going to play IPL and skip ODIs. Right before the ODI he felt he better rest. Each different series was seperate descision and not a collective one

[Raghav_12]

ondon: Move aside the Glenn McGraths and Muttiah Muralitharans' date='[b'] the only bowler who has tested Sachin Tendulkar to an extent that the Indian batting icon "didn't know what to do" while facing him was stunningly the late Hansie Cronje! ," he said. http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/news/article?id=item/2.0/-/story/cricket.yahoonews.com/cronje-was-bowler-who-tested-me-most-tendulkar-20101030/

I checked up stats and found that he was out to Cronje 5 times in test matches and at times after being well set. Interestingly Donald also took him 5 times in test matches (while Cronje would have bowled just 20-25 % of Donald's overs). Both of them,Donald and Cronje, played 11 test matches against Tendulkar and for 10 out of 11 test matches they were together in team while playing against Sachin. I am giving these stats for the people who say that Sachin scores in early 30's while playing against Donald and then conclude that he can't play fast bowling. From these figures, it is clear that inability to play Cronje was main reason behind relatively low average (in those 10-11 match4es) not the inability to play Donald, as some people like to believe.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[spectre]

ODIs are as important as test kirkut, that you are harping about. who decides whether its meanigless or not. Just becuase some armchair critics says so, will not change anything. ODIs draws the major fans/viewers all over the world, and not test kirkut. Why shouldnt fans from other versions of cricket, be concerned about the 'representing country' bit. Is it reserved for only test kirkut fans or what. The biggest prize in cricket is played in ODI format. Just because we enjoy IPL and CL doesnt make it more important than ODIs. Cricket became popular in India becuase 'India' represented it. Its the pride, which brought in the love for the game ( for masses atleast) Atleast 'tontee-tontee' fans are honest and say they enjoy it unlike the closet kirkut fans, who peep in often to the IPL boards and make an ass out of themselves.

SRT has no option but to play in IPL as ordered by BCCI ... infact it applies to all the big cats in Indian cricket ... otherwise the IPL would have fizzled out ... while SRT has the clout to say no to them but it would ruffle too many feathers and create un-necessary conflict ... so in light of all this he decided to play in the jujubi tontee-tontee and take equivalent time out by cutting down on meaningless odi's I cant believe people dont get such a simple thing. But what is hilarious is that tontee-tontee fans harping about "Representing the country" and all that heavy stuff.... Well if you care about those things the very first step you should do is to stop supporting the krap that is otherwise called tontee-tontee. Because while SRT has found a way to not compromise with Test cricket many of the yengsters will simply not bother about Test match skills if this tontee-tontee cancer spreads ... I will hold my breath for the whistle poodus and amchi mumbai baiz to answer my question.

Well, first read my posts before making a fool out of yourself. I said it was not a honest comment from him. what else do you expect him to say, the truth.... You bhakts wont accept other's pov, its just like hitting against a wall, trying to debate with such people. keep singing your bhajans

At least read the article before making a complete fool of oneself "The decision to skip the last two ODI series was taken at the last moment and was not pre-decided. so no, as you claim he did not decide that he is going to play IPL and skip ODIs. Right before the ODI he felt he better rest. Each different series was seperate descision and not a collective one

[CSK Fan]

Well, first read my posts before making a fool out of yourself. I said it was not a honest comment from him. what else do you expect him to say, the truth.... You bhakts wont accept other's pov, its just like hitting against a wall, trying to debate with such people. keep singing your bhajans

So now you are accusing him of lying? Way to go. He could have easily not commented on this, why would he tell a bare faced lie? Bhakts or not, it will take a lot from me to believe than any Indian cricket player(or usually any person) is lying in anything he says without proof. I would always give them the benifit of the doubt

[Jersey #10]

More 2020 = More of real cricket! w00t