Should Tendulkar retire himself at the end of this series? (Poll added)

[Magneto]

Poll is a disgrace' date=' i hope its just the pakis and konvicts voting yes[/quote'] 10 Pakis, 10 Aussies, 39 Indian ICFers trying 'antijinx' and The Outsider :giggle:

[Old guy]

10 Pakis' date=' 10 Aussies, 39 Indian ICFers trying 'antijinx' and The Outsider :giggle:[/quote'] :hysterical: i dont even remember wht i voted are u one of those icfers? :hmmm:

[Magneto]

:hysterical: i dont even remember wht i voted are u one of those icfers? :hmmm:

I voted for the other option :winky:

[Old guy]

I voted for the other option :winky:

cant see it :dontknow:

[Mariyam]

I voted 'no'.

[akshayxyz]

That would work in an individual sport like Tennis' date=' but in a team sport the team obviously comes first. Fact is Tendulkar flopped over 16 consecutive innings in challenging, away conditions. [b']Most of the decent scores he made were on pattas like Oval and Sydney and/or in the second innings when faced with a lost cause - situations where even Praveen Kumar, Zaheer, and Ashwin were able to score in. Given this it would take a brave man to bet a) Tendulkar will be available when India tour in similar conditions and b) Tendulkar will be able to score meaningful runs again in similar conditions. Sometimes I think you are a logical person like in the quote before and then you make statements like the above - Kohli? QED.

Talking about logic - how did Kohli significantly outperformed others? by 13 runs!!! and going by the parameter you only defined - runs in lost causes - how was Kohli's 50 in Perth more valuable than SRT/Dravid's 50s in first match, 1st innings?

[rabinjackman]

SO what has ICF decided? yes leads No by 1 vote 60-59 Hung jury?

[akshayxyz]

True, and that's been my point all along. The genius that Tendulkar is, he will never become a bad or poor batsman, till probably he can't stand on his feet. It's about developing new batsmen in test cricket and if ever there was a time for a mass change in the line up it is after a 0-8 - there isn't a worse scoreline as far as my limited Math skills tell me over 8 matches.

Won't it inspire the developing batsmen even more - that an 40 y/o is still able to compete neck to neck, as long as he can. Can't think of better lesson on work ethics, even after achieving so much.

[bulbul]

Won't it inspire the developing batsmen even more - that an 40 y/o is still able to compete neck to neck, as long as he can. Can't think of better lesson on work ethics, even after achieving so much.

may not be...they will think even if team doesnt done well in overseas tourney its fine to have oldies in team

[NeutralCat]

No he needs to be in the side for about 14 months Dravid and VVS out along with Shewag.

[zen]

Someone might say that Sachin is struggling to adjust to post 2011 standards :P on a serious note, he should retire, along with Dravid and Laxman .... time to move on. they might get a few runs in Indian type of conditions but so would some of the youngsters (may be not as many as them). That gives us some time to develop the team They should only continue if they can last till March 2013. By lasting till 2013, I also mean being sharp enough in the field and taking catches that come their way future tours: June 2012 - Away tests in SL *yawn* Aug 2012 - Home tests vs NZ *yawn* Nov 2012 - Home tests vs Eng (need to white wash Eng) :--D Feb 2013 - Home tests vs Aus (need to white wash Aus) :--D

[vvvslaxman]

It is upto him to decide when to retire. It is always a nice temptation to push it as long as possible. But if history has shown anything the extra years they push often prove to be disasterous and their legacy will have blemish. On that score Sunny Gavaskar retired right after playing one of the best test innings ever and he was 38 so right age to quit.

[ViruRulez]

Should Sachin gradually make way for the next generation? I am a huge supporter of Sachin but age is now gradually catching up with him and that seems quite evident. He might again regain his form in a few months or years but I am really not sure it would be right to accommodate him for the next few years just for the sake of experience. I think this is the apt time for transforming the team gradually into the next generation. The team might take a bit of hit here or there due to the bold decision. Even Aussies did so in the last few years but they are becoming better again with time. So, I think the decision must be taken soon and it would be better if Sachin himself retires soon. He can instead guide the youngsters and help in the transition in the next few years. Another player who needs to fix his overall batting is Viru. I am a big Viru fan as well but I am quite disappointed with his inconsistency in recent years. It is right that he can single handedly win a match but then it does not benefit a lot if he performs in one match and then gives away his wicket cheaply for the next 15-20 matches. Nowadays, Viru strikes big only a few times a year at the most including both ODIs and Tests. So, he needs to get back to his basics and work on consistency at least in foreign pitches. We need to find some solid replacements for openers very soon. In the past, our batting was strong as the openers used to make huge contributions ever since the 90s. It was our middle order which failed but nowadays our middle order is better but our openers have not been that great. Gauti should stick to the opening position but we need a calculated blaster at the other end. Viru does not seem to be the right choice in the current form.

[Stuge]

Don't worry its about time when Sachin declares that he is retiring from all forms of the game .Just wait and watch . Forget him our other batsmen like talented Sharmaji is turning out to be minnow basher ,and nothing else .

[The Outsider]

Talking about logic - how did Kohli significantly outperformed others? by 13 runs!!! and going by the parameter you only defined - runs in lost causes - how was Kohli's 50 in Perth more valuable than SRT/Dravid's 50s in first match' date=' 1st innings?[/quote'] If you care to look beyond numbers and the performances in their context, Kohli did outperform others (but then you need to run Monte Carlo simulations on a supercomputer to help decide if Hammond was a better batsman or Rameez Raja, so not sure if you'll understand): 1. Kohli has played a handful of tests and showed improvement not only with regards to output but technique and temperament. In the early stages of your career you are judged by your success and potential (the same was true for Tendulkar) and as an experienced player the parameters to judge a performance are different. 2. On two occasions when he made his highest scores he was left stranded with the tail and had to throw his wicket away as the last man out. Don't think any other Indian batsman managed to bat so deep into an innings. 3. The Perth wicket was never a patta like the Oval and Sydney, which were the two innings I had in mind when making the comment about most of Tendulkar's decent innings having come in such situations in the last two series. The Melbourne innings of Dravid and Tendulkar were good, but being the experienced batsmen that they are they are both guilty of throwing away a great opportunity for India to go 1-0 up in the series from a score of 200/2. One or both of them should have carried on and in the context of the series, we lost ground at that point which was never recovered.

[The Outsider]

Won't it inspire the developing batsmen even more - that an 40 y/o is still able to compete neck to neck, as long as he can. Can't think of better lesson on work ethics, even after achieving so much.

What neck and neck competing are you referring to? Consecutive failures across 8 away tests? Even the newer batsmen can do that, but at least there is hope that they will improve when we make our next away tour. Do you seriously believe Tendulkar will be able to score 2-3 years later in places like South Africa, England, and Australia when he is finding it hard to score now?

[1983-2011]

For God's sake, Tendulkar, just go - Jamie Alter I have a confession to make. I do not want Sachin Tendulkar to make his 100th international century in one-day cricket. For too long this meaningless pursuit of three figures has affected Tendulkar's batting, consumed the media and public and, most importantly, distracted the Indian team. I want to see Tendulkar leave the game respectfully, not turn out in random ODI matches on some bogus rotation policy which does nothing for the future of Indian cricket while he singularly pursues a number. The player has become greater than the game and that's not doing anyone any good. With each venture to the crease and another almost inevitable failure during the ongoing CB Series, falling to the likes of Mitchell Starc, Angelo Mathews and Nuwan Kulasekara, the image of an outstanding cricketer, a player who was part of my cricketing awakening and no doubt millions of others, takes a beating. Instead of the memory of Tendulkar being hoisted on the shoulders of his much younger team-mates after India won the World Cup last year, it is a dejected, often isolated Tendulkar hanging his head while walking back to the dressing room that is threatening to be the lasting image. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. Tendulkar's bid for an unprecedented century of international centuries has been the talking point since he hit his 99th hundred against South Africa at the World Cup in March 2011. He has now gone 21 Test innings and seven one-day matches without a century despite twice entering the nineties. This relentless pursuit of a century has spanned India's two most devastating Test series defeats for as far back as one can remember, four in England and four in Australia. For too long this chase for 100 centuries has possessed a nation and the man himself. It shrouded and clouded India's preparations for the tour of Australia which they ended up losing 4-0. Including Tendulkar for the CB Series was a decision aimed solely at giving him further rope to score that three-figure knock. And therein lies the problem. Why have we become so obsessed with a number? Is 99 no less of an achievement than 100? Think about it 99 international centuries. That is an epic achievement, unlikely to be surpassed. Tendulkar already holds four batting world records - most runs in Tests (15,409) and one-day internationals (18,111) and most hundreds in Tests (51) and one-dayers (48). What will 100 give him? As Suresh Menon so aptly wrote in these pages, "perhaps it is Tendulkar who 'educated' a generation into thinking that statistics are more important than anything else." Has the number 100 really become more important than the journey? What will scoring that 100th century get Tendulkar? What will it get Indian cricket? Will he reach three figures and then leave the next day, or will he play the Asia Cup? Going by the way he put his IPL team ahead of his country last year, the answer is rather evident. When a man chooses not to play one single ODI for almost 11 months, and then suddenly slips back into the format after failing to achieve his goal in Tests, it reeks of selfishness. Tendulkar has become larger than the game, choosing when and where he plays, and that has hurt Indian cricket. All this could have been avoided had Tendulkar gone on the tour of the West Indies last summer. Instead, the anticipation of the 100th hundred weighed down on India in England. It showed in Tendulkar's batting. Something was wrong. Injury ruled him out of the ODIs against England, and when Tendulkar failed to get to the landmark in the three-Test series against West Indies in India, he should have played the five ODIs that followed. But no, he wanted to score it in a Test match, and so he conveniently skipped the ODIs and prepared for Australia. What happened? Eight innings without that damn century in four defeats that took India's winless streak away from home to eight straight matches. And now we see him choosing, out of the blue, to play the CB Series. He did not play one single ODI since the World Cup final, which shows how much he thinks he can contribute to India's cause. Making himself available for the CB Series was all about getting that 100th century, and that is perverse. It is not helping India, it is not helping the future. It is all about scoring that 100th hundred. You are not greater than the game, Tendulkar, and that's why I hope you don't get that 100th century in ODIs. http://cricketnext.in.com/news/for-gods-sake-tendulkar-just-go/63848-13.html

[1983-2011]

some guy called MANAN.H.CONTRACTOR is really pissed off at Jamie on twitter. Is he BB by any chance @cmananh25 http://twitter.com/cmananh25 he just made twitter account to abuse him:cantstop:

[1983-2011]

@jamie_alter Diverse opinions and reactions to the Tendulkar piece. Respect everyone's views. Haters, to each his own. Supporters, thank you.

[Karan114]

Have to agree that putting the tamasha league above playing for India was extremely poor on Tendulkar's part.