Good Bye Sachin Tendulkar the greatest batsman of all time - Tribute Thread

[anotherhawkeye]

This kind of talk is perhaps the most annoying, one has to constantly endure either from posters and others. "People were asking him to retire, now people are asking why he retired". Moron, how do you know it's the same person who asked him to retire and is saying the opposite now? With so many "people" you are going to find every view under the sun expressed by the "people", so anything said can be attributed to the collective thought process of the "people" depending on convenience.

Ha ha...so very true.

[Chandan]

LINK Big things are still expected of Sachin Sourav Ganguly Ž· Dec 24, 2012 Ž· The retirement debate was still on when Sachin Tendulkar announced on Sunday that he was retiring from One-Day Internationals. It was quite a shock to many, but IÃÎ not surprised at all because lately he hadnÃÕ been playing consistently in ODIs. He had previously mentioned that he intended to give selectors an opportunity to re-build a team for the World Cup in 2015 and it is clear that he has the larger interests of the Indian cricket team in his heart and mind. Some believed that Sachin would retire after achieving a huge milestone of winning the World Cup for India last year, but I didnÃÕ expect him to leave. The game is not only about reaching milestones or winning trophies; it is the overall joy of playing. Sachin continued his good form after the World Cup and scored ample runs, so there was no reason for him to step aside. Many players retire from limited-overs cricket to concentrate on their Test career. Whichever format Sachin is playing in, you expect him to perform big. HeÃÔ been doing that for so many years. Sachin is revered in Australia and I understand that a special performance will be expected from him in the upcoming series. Sachin has many records to his credit, some of which may never be surpassed. His records will never be broken because he achieved it with his unbelievable ability. His superior technique has set him apart from everyone else. He was superb in Test cricket and I strongly believe that if youÃÓe good in Test cricket, you can be fantastic in any other format of the game. My opening partnership with Sachin in ODIs is the most successful in the history of cricket. I believe this happened because we both scored heavily in our games. We understood our games well and that made it possible for us to set up the bowlers to get more runs. Our partnership was built on the fact that we enjoyed batting in each otherÃÔ company. Also, an extra factor that worked in our favour was that he was a right-handed batsman and I was left-handed. All partnerships with Sachin are special to me, and we hold the record for the maximum number of century partnerships. My favourite memories are of watching him from the non-strikerÃÔ end. But my best memory is of Sachin on his teammates shoulders after winning the World Cup last year. We all know how much it meant to him. Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sachin and I were part of the generation that was inspired by IndiaÃÔ victory in the 1983 World Cup. Unfortunately, Dravid, Kumble and I never managed to taste World Cup glory. For any cricket player in India, it is a huge dream to be part of a team that lifts the cup. We came close in 2003 but lost to a formidable Australian side. I remember Sachin saying that he was lucky to be part of the winning team in 2011. Winning the cup is a terrific achievement, something to be cherished for the rest of your life. Most of the current players in the team started with Sachin in the team to guide them. Virat Kohli is one such who has an incredible record in ODIs so far. Youngsters learn from the stalwarts, and Virat surely has learnt a lot by being alongside Sachin. Virat has the natural ability and technique to score runs. He is mentally strong, he plays to make runs. His batting skill is commendable. The quick-fire innings that Virat played at Wankhede in the recent T20I against England didnÃÕ contain a single slog and showcased his class. IÃÎ sure he is not the last of a line of cricketers inspired by Sachin.

[The Outsider]

My little tribute to Tendulkar: http://www.indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=291903

[Lord]

little?:giggle:

[Magneto]

little?:giggle:

Little master hai na, so 'little' tribute.

[Guest 3stumps]

:omg: qHYfVaxIOZw IF YOU ARE TRUE FAN OF Sachin Tendulkar THAN SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

[Sachin=GOD]

Time stands frozen in front of Tendulkar: Time magazine

Leading news magazine Time eulogised Sachin Tendulkar as one in front of whom time appeared to have stood frozen. The champion batsman announced his retirement from One-day international (ODI) cricket on Sunday. In its tribute to the Indian batting great, the news magazine said: "It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will." "When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race an F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, (and) Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam," Time was quoted as saying on its website. "When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to 'open' the Nehruvian economy." Tendulkar who has scored 18,426 runs in 463 ODI matches would continue to play the Test format. He scored 49 centuries and 96 fifties in the shorter format -- and was the first batsman to score a double-century in an ODI. Tendulkar made his debut as a 16-year-old in a Test match in Karachi on November 15, 1989 while he played his first ODI against Pakistan in Gujranwala Dec 18, 1989. The master blaster figured on the cover of Time magazine in May this year for the editions in the Indian subcontinent, Singapore and Australia and New Zealand after he completed a century of tons in international cricket.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Cricket/CricketNews/Time-stands-frozen-in-front-of-Tendulkar-Time-magazine/Article1-979815.aspx

[zen]

Best Sachin moments for me in ODIs, in no particular order: - the Hero Cup SF over against SA - the two Desert storm innings - WC performances in 1996, 2003 and 2011 - His batting in Pak to take on their opening bowlers. It helped to not give Pak early wkts and counter the new ball. Ind won the ODI series - His 100 in Natwest 2002 batting at #4

[mastana]

For once can Sachin do a Afridi and take his retirement back? :((

[Chandan]

[Sidhoni]

:hatsoff:

[Chandan]

LINK 23 years of magic Siddhartha Vaidyanathan traces Sachin TendulkarÃÔ one-day international career through 40 unforgettable moments Siddhartha Vaidyanathan Posted On Monday, December 24, 2012 1989 A late Saturday afternoon. Grainy monochrome images from an exhibition match in Peshawar strain our eyes. The sixteen-yearold on the screen is draped in white, milky white. Helmet, shirt, arm guard, gloves, trousers: all white. Fifty three off eighteen balls. Abdul Qadir prances in with flaying arms, Tendulkar swings, his bat a pendulum, the point of impact crisp, his hands and feet collaborating in a symphony of destruction. A six, a pause, a four, then three sixes in a row. 1990 A Sharjah final against Pakistan on a Friday. It's always a Friday. The third of Aaqib Javed's hattrick. He ponders the lbw decision for a few seconds, gawps at the umpire, shakes his head, and walks off. A golden duck, a big match slipping away. 1991 A low-scoring scorcher under the dark Perth sky. West Indies sniffle, cough and hiccup in their pursuit of 127. Tendulkar is handed the ball with five needed. He trots in and swings them sharp. Edges fly, the batsmen harry. Five balls later the scores are level. Then a huge outswinger, a banana ball. Cummins edges, Azhar takes a low blinder in the slips - his fingers mow the grass - and goes on to celebrate by acting as if this was the plan all along. The game is tied. Tendulkar is mobbed. 1992 India v Pakistan at a World Cup, a day-nighter at Sydney. The afternoon gives way to the twilight at 101 for 3. In walks Tendulkar and anchors the set-up. He adds 60 with Kapil Dev, who keeps patting him on the back from a great height. Fifty four off sixty two balls. Only three fours but plenty of judicious twos. And some threes, enough to get Kapil to huff a bit. India make 216, they maintain their record of never losing a World Cup match to Pakistan. As long as Tendulkar plays ODIs the record stands. 1993 A heart-stopper at Eden Gardens in the Hero Cup semi-final against South Africa. The first day-nighter at Kolkata. A jam-packed house and his finest over with the ball. Six needed off six balls. Will Kapil bowl it? Will Srinath? Or will it be Jadeja? The politburo convenes for a lengthy meeting. Tendulkar offers his services. A horse-trot to the crease. Clapclop-clap-clop. Then a nimble lift off. The accuracy is razorsharp. McMillan can't connect as he wishes. Richardson is runout. So is de Villiers. Stuffed inside a gigantic pressure cooker, Tendulkar has conceded only three. The spectators light up newspaper torches. A stadium is alight. Tendulkar has launched them into a final. 1993 Back in Eden Gardens three days later. In front of 100,000. The Hero Cup final. West Indies chasing 226, Lara, in his maroon cap, is well set on 33, Richardson, wearing his maroon floppy, offers steady support. Tendulkar hops in, angles one across Lara's body, watches it pitch on middle and sneak past Lara's flaying bat to uproot the offstump. Bowled him! Tendulkar's done it again, says a commentator in an apoplectic fit. Tendulkar pumps his fist, lets out a smile and hugs the wicketkeeper. 1994 That day in Auckland. Sidhu is injured. Tendulkar gets a triple promotion, from No. 5 to No. 2. India are set 143. Tendulkar walks out and, with audacious punches, changes the one-day game forever. Fifteen fours, two sixes in a most significant 82. This is no slogathon. This is the day textbook perfect drives turn into crisp lofts over the in-field. Tendulkar follows the coaching manual, except in the last millisecond when he lifts the ball over the inner circle. Such delightful cheek. India motor to a seven-wicket win. 1994 The first India-Pakistan match since the World Cup. This time in - where else? - Sharjah at the Australasia Cup. Tendulkar fire-starts the innings with a 64-ball 73. Delectable cover-drives, where he carefully follows Akram's outswingers, reel off his bat. Chisti Mujahid is droning on in the commentary box. Henry Blofeld, sitting next to him, is spotting ear-rings in the crowd. It's a Friday, as always. Pakistan win, as always. 1994 His first one-day hundred, the first of 49. At Colombo against Australia. Rips past the opening bowlers before feasting on Warne, a sneak peek for what was to follow over the next four years. He then settled down to a steady innings, reached a century, claimed three wickets, a catch, a run-out and the Man-ofthe-Match award. Those were the days he was forever haunting the presentation ceremony, including a five-match home series in West Indies when he finished as Man of the Series despite two zeroes. Who does such things? 1996 The World Cup. The beginning of a dazzling phase, most famously kickstarted during the classic 84-ball 90 in Mumbai, gemstones flying off his bat, pulling McGrath into the gallery, carving Fleming inside out, the crowd heaving, S´aaa-chiiin, Sachin, Saaaa-chiiin, Sachin? Tony Greig going ballistic ... Tendulkar in Mumbai is like the Beatles in London? And then boom... out to Mark Waugh, stumped... the moment India lost their way, the point when the notion of a Tendulkar dismissal leading to an India defeat takes hold. 1996 More fireworks in Delhi against Sri Lanka. This time it's a day match and the bowler who suffers is Ravindra Pushpakumara, the poor man's Waqar Younis. Full and on the pads is hoicked over midwicket, length is deposited to the sightscreen. One hundred and thirty seven, his highest score to date. India lose. Sri Lanka are flying. The first Tendulkar hundred in a losing cause. Definitely not the last. 1996 A World Cup quarter-final against Pakistan in Bangalore. He slithers into the thirties, with three compact fours. Then the inside edge off Ataur-Rahman. The crowd gasps, a palpable exhalation. The only sounds one can hear is Ata-ur-Rahman screeching indistinct animal noises. The silence continues for a good minute. India win. Ata-ur's moment in the sun is briefly forgotten. 1996 The stumping against Sri Lanka in the semi-final. Not a run-out but a stumping. He has splintered to 65 before losing partners and is eventually frustrated out. 98 for 1 before he is out. 120 for 8 after. India have thrived before Tendulkar and collapsed after. Kambli cries. Pepsi bottles rain onto the field. The dream ends. 1996 Motors to 118 against Pakistan in Sharjah in a tri-series. Finishes with two wickets with the ball, including a swinging yorker to dismiss Saqlain Mushtaq, the last wicket, which is followed by a **** you send off. 1997 A 97-ball 104 at Benoni, made most memorable by a scintillating straight six off the chicken farmer Eddo Brandes. The signature shot is replayed over and over. India reach the final, where there is a bullet cover-drive that nearly maims Darryl Cullinan's fingers. 1997 The first one-dayer of a series in Trinidad. Tendulkar unfurls ten of the most gorgeous fours against a rampaging Ambrose, Bishop and Walsh. Some on the up, some manufactured. His innings is cut short at 44. A mini-epic has been nipped in the bud. 1998 The shredding of Heath Davis during the Independence Cup in Bangalore. Tendulkar smotes 117 and shares a 169-run partnership with Ganguly, his able ally over the next several years. Davis is toweled for 54 in his five overs as India canter to a win. Davis to Tendulkar - a scattergun to a rock - is one of the lasting images from that tournament. 1998 The final of the Independence Cup in Dhaka. India need a near-impossible 315. Tendulkar kickstarts the chase, blistering a 26-ball 41, allowing them to rattle along at nearly ten an over. A sizzling start to a day that is filled with immense drama. India win a never-to-be-forgotten final. 1998 The first match of the Pepsi Triangular Cup in Kochi. Against Australia. India make 309. Tendulkar is the sixth bowler to be given a spell. He chooses to spin a web with his off-breaks. Steve Waugh lobs a return catch. Tendulkar latches on and pretends it's a ball of fire, cooling it off with puffs of air from his mouth. An enduring image that makes the newspapers. 1998 The Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah, a tournament that Tendulkar enters as a great batsman and finishes as a legend. The 80 against Australia in the first match, the measured start to the virtual semi-final, then the desert storm: the scarcely believable shot-production, the partnership with Laxman, doing enough to reach the final and then going for a near-impossible win. then coming back for the final on his birthday, chasing a challenging total. Lofting Warne, lofting Kasprowicz, charging down the track to Warne the first ball he goes around the wicket, steaming a six past his head provoking the comment from Warne about having nightmares bowling to him, the effortless finish....... then to be told of Bradman's comments, to hear that he bats like the Don, to be invited to his home in Adelaide By the end of the year, what is clear is this: Tendulkar is walking on water. 1998 Another Australia clash, this time in the first Champions Trophy in Dhaka. A rollicking 141, four wickets and a catch. There is nothing this man cannot do. Nothing. 1998 A final in Sharjah. An enraged Tendulkar is going after Henry Olonga who had a great game two days earlier. He charges down the track and hammers him over his head. A 92-ball 124 seals the deal with twenty overs to spare. 1999 A World Cup match against Kenya in Bristol. Tendulkar has flown back to India for his father's funeral and hurriedly returned. Now there's a cricket match to consider. A hundred inevitably materializes, calm, composed, an almost spiritual century that he brings up with a glance to the heavens. 2000 A 37-ball 38 against Australia in a Champions Trophy game at Nairobi. Tendulkar pulls McGrath for four, watches him walk towards him, hears him sledge and goes **** off? You can actually hear him squeak the words out. That's how pumped he is. 2001 Screams a maddening 26-ball 35 against Australia in a one-dayer in Bangalore. Six fours drip off his bat, a six soars. He's hurtling towards a hundred in no time, Ian Chappell is going bonkers on air, the world stops spinning for a brief while... until he's run-out. This is how cruel this sport can get. 2002 A one-day tri-series match against Sri Lanka in Bristol. Tendulkar is in at No 4 and burns the turf with an array of splendid strokeplay. Shots fly to various parts of the field. Sri Lanka's captain Jayasuriya is thwarted with his field placements, especially with the placement of the fine leg and third man. A 102-ball 113, an almost forgotten gem. 2003 Another World Cup. This time in South Africa. Lbw to a slower ball from Gillespie early on, but that is what brings the team together. He makes a statement about the team needing support from those burning effigies and stoning homes, then eases into form against Namibia and Zimbabwe. ...before the iconic six against Andrew Caddick where he waits for the short one and blasts it out of the ground, as pre-meditated, and as devastating, a pull shot as you can hope to see......which is a neat precursor to his masterpiece against Pakistan, an innings of such ferocity that the first few overs contained a mini-epic in itself: the six off Shoaib, a stupendous release of the tension. Then the four off Akram, standing still and brushing his bat gently, zen-like. The straight-drive off Shoaib, nothing more than a pat of his bat... 98 of the most golden runs in World Cup history. 2004 A one-dayer in Rawalpindi. India are chasing a mammoth 330. Tendulkar lets rip 141 in a high-octane performance where he reveals his entire range. He sweeps, paddles, carves past third man. There is no shot that Tendulkar can't play on this day. India lose their way once he falls, though it remains one of the innings of the series. 2005 A tightrope walk against Pakistan in Ahmedabad with the series on the line. Tendulkar cuts through the tension with 123. He anchors the innings and unfurls some brilliant strokes towards the end. India can't defend 315. Inzamam-ul-Haq plays the best innings of the day and another Tendulkar gem mourns in defeat. 2006 A series-decided in front of a partisan crowd at Lahore. The ball is seaming, swinging, biting off the surface, jagging in, moving out. Asif and Gul are making it talk. India are chasing a stiff target. In one of the finest exhibitions of technique, Tendulkar leaves. He calmly, judiciously leaves ball after ball outside off. Dravid is clueless at the other end but Tendulkar is all composure. It is a match-winning hand, at the end of which Dravid has only one word which he repeatedly mutters: genius, genius. 2007 A miserable World Cup campaign, his first fallow experience. No joy against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. India are out in the first round. Tendulkar is so shattered he cries in the dressing-room. 2008 A best-of-three final against Australia in the Commonwealth Bank Series. A hundred in the first final, a 91 in the second. Two brilliant exhibitions in innings building on large grounds with opportunities for twos and threes. He towels Lee for a gunshot straight drive, which prompts a helpless, angelic smile from the bowler. 2009 Australia in India. Series tied at 2-2. Australia make 350 in Hyderabad. Tendulkar responds with 175, alone, single-handed. Only three others reach double figures. This is a shaolin innings, pasting the bowlers for 19 fours and four sixes, middling the ball as if possessed of magnetic powers. A superhuman innings that ended in defeat. Few Tendulkar innings have prompted such despair. Few such great masterclasses have ended in tears. 2010 The piece-de-resistance at Gwalior. A neat, historic, unprecedented 200. Had this been a blood-sport Steyn would have been injured. It rains fours and sixes. A 147-ball 200 in a one-day match: this was a marathon in miniature, and Tendulkar has achieved everything there is to on a cricket field 2011 ©Æxcept a World Cup win. So it begins, his last attempt. First a sensational hundred in Bangalore, peppering fours around the Chinnaswamy. Then an even more breathtaking ton at Nagpur, pummeling Steyn. The edgy (but critical) half-century in the semi-final against Pakistan, and a celebratory chairing on the arms of his team mates in Mumbai, his beloved Mumbai. Would he choose the moment to retire from the game? 2012 Not before a 100th international hundred in Bangladesh in an innings shrouded in controversy for the way he approached the run-up to the hundred, a moment made more intense because India lost. Then the wait. And then, on Sunday, a press release. "I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup wining Indian team", it reads. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years." Eternally grateful... our sentiments exactly. What they said Masters.463 matches, 23 yrs, 18426 runs !!!! These numbers nobody else will be able to come close to. Salute salute salute to Sachin. Sachin tendulkar a grt batsman .grt human being. a grt frnd.grt man 2 look up 2. proud indian. Real son of india. I salute u nd luv u. Harbhajan singh on Twitter To be honest we (Pakistanis) will miss him and feel really sad that he will not play anymore international ODIs for India. I admire the man for his sheer domineering character. He rattled all kinds of bowlers around the world Mohammad Hafeez Pakistan captain I’m not surprised by his decision. He has done what he thought was right. I don't think there was any pressure of selectors on him. It is his decision. No one can drop him Sourav Ganguly Former India captain If he is continuing with international cricket then he should have continued with ODIs also. We play almost 25 ODIs in a season. In ODIs, he opens the innings and plays the full innings so he gets used to international bowling Dilip Vengsarkar Former India captain I'm surprised by his move but he is leaving ODI cricket on a high. I am sure he will want to leave on a high in Test cricket also. He will be looking forward to a good test series against Australia K Srikkanth Former India captain Conclusion of a sterling ODI career from a wonderful batsman. Congrats Sachin Tendulkar Hashim Amla SA batsman on Twitter End of an era as @sachin_rt retires from one-dayers. Hats off to 23 years of cricketing genius! Narain Karthikeyan Formula One driver

[Chandan]

Sachin retires LINK Wasim and Waqar recall Sachin's best ODI inning against them 'Shoaib came up to me and said he would not bowl the next over' Pakistan's greatest pace duo, Waqar and Wasim rate Tendulkar's 98 at the Centurion in 2003 as the best they have seen Shahid Hashmi Posted On Monday, December 24, 2012 I and Sachin Tendulkar made our Test debuts in the same game. I have very vivid memories of that match. That first Test started a memorable rivalry between me and him. We shared some great moments off the field. Although Sachin has played some memorable innings against us but the knock which stands out in my memory is the one he played at Centurion during the 2003 World Cup. It was an exhilarating and dominating knock that threw us out of the World Cup. I was not only the bowling spearhead of the team but also its captain. Before the match our focus was around Tendulkar. We were all talking about the ways to get the master batsman out. If I remember correctly, Tendulkar was in good form at that time, having scored a 100 and a 50 in the previous two matches. Batting first we managed 270-odd runs with Saeed Anwar hitting a fighting hundred. We thought it was a defendable total. But the way Tendulkar started the innings, we were just blown away. He hit a boundary off Wasim Akram in the first over and then went berserk against Shoaib Akhtar. He hit a six and two boundaries off Shoaib Akhtar. The maverick batsman left Akhtar shattered. Those were such ruthless shots that Shoaib came up to me after that over and said that he would not bowl the next over. I was surprised to hear that and didn't believe my ears. After just one over I had to change and came onto bowl at Tendulkar. But I too was meted out the same treatment. He hit me for two fours and a six and India were cruising along nicely. We came close to getting him out off Wasim Akram but Abdul Razzaq failed to judge a head-high catch at mid-on and we spurned that chance. I still remember Wasim was very furious at Razzaq. He was ultimately dismissed by Shoaib for 98 and those runs came off just 70-odd balls. He in fact took the game away from us and although we managed a few wickets in between, the great man had set the platform for awin. I just can't forget that knock. Sachin was at his ruthless best. It's sad that Sachin has called quits on his oneday career. He had to take a decision and I feel happy that he has taken it at an appropriate time. Wasim Akram : Singling out any one knock by Sachin is very difficult but one of the best was his 90-plus at Centurion during the 2003 World Cup. He punished all the bowlers especially Shoaib Akhtar. Shoaib and I opened the bowling and I think India raced to 50 in just four-five overs. He hit a brilliant six off Shoaib which went over point and we were amazed at his hitting. Shoaib was so shocked that he asked the captain to change him. I still remember that all of us were sneering at him.

[Chandan]

LINK Hanif Mohammad rates Sachin over Bradman The Hindu Veteran Pakistani cricketer Hanif Mohammad (left) is seen along with Sachin Tendulkar. Pakistan batting great, Hanif Mohammad on Tuesday, rated Sachin Tendulkar better than the legendary Australian Sir Donald Bradman and described him as the best batsman he has seen in my life. I am one of those fortune people who have seen Bradman and Tendulkar bat in my lifetime and in my opinion Tendulkar is the best batsman I have seen in my life, Hanif said on Tuesday. Hanif, who had earned the sobriquet of ÅÍittle master like Tendulkar for his batting feats in the 50s and 60s, said he had not seen a better player than Tendulkar. I am very sad to hear that Tendulkar has decided to retire from One-day cricket. I hope he continues to play Test matches. Because to my mind he could have played on even in ODIs for another two years, Hanif said. He remains to my mind still the best player in the world. I have never seen a more complete player than Tendulkar and I have always been a great admirer of his batting, Hanif said. The former Pakistan captain is due to leave for India as a goodwill ambassador for the Pakistan cricket Board during the current one-day series. If possible I will definitely like to meet Tendulkar and have a chat with him in India. It has been a great experience watching him bat all these years, he added. Overall the Pakistan cricket community has paid rich tributes to Tendulkar but also expressed surprise at the timing of his retirement from ODIs. It is a bit surprising considering he was always such a fierce competitor against us and wanted to do well against us. His last two innings against us have been half centuries. I would have thought he would chosen this series as his farewell ODI series, former captain, Wasim Bari said. Bari is also among the chosen goodwill ambassadors for the series in India.

[Lord]

must be eyeing an IPL contract:beee:

[Chandan]

LINK In Peshawar, India find a "little bugger who can play" A walk down the memory lane reveals how Sachin Tendulkar, all of 16, impressed one and all on his maiden tour to Pakistan. Suresh Menon | Last updated on Tuesday, 25 December 2012 Twenty three years ago, it was easy to see why the forefathers of the security men at Peshawar could not control the Khyber Pass. A huge crowd had turned up at the cricket stadium, many fans allowed in by the combination of the friendliness of those paid to check the tickets and the aggression of those who thought valour might be the better part of discretion. The India-Pakistan match was an occasion, as always. India hadn't been to Pakistan in five years, they had a brand new captain, and Pakistan were led by that wily fox Imran Khan. Everything was in the hosts' favour. But Peshawar was bound to be different. On a clear day, a guide told us, you could see Afghanistan. But this wasn't a clear day. In fact, it rained, putting paid to the aspirations of thousands of spectators some of whom had even bought tickets. It is possible that those who shouted loudest about being deprived were those who didn't have any tickets. It is often that way. The Indian team was coming together as a unit on that tour - led by Krishnamachari Srikkanth, it was in transition, Sunil Gavaskar having retired and Dilip Vengsarkar having lost his job as captain after a poor tour of the West Indies. The forced camaraderie - for security reasons - meant that the team and the journalists had to find entertainment among ourselves. I have a picture somewhere of Tendulkar in a false beard - we had to wear one to attend one of the 'club' meetings. It was my first Test tour; the oldest among us was Dicky Rutnagur who had been touring for over three decades. He had reported the series in England in 1952 when India were led by Vijay Hazare. It was possible that there were only two degrees of separation, three at most, between me and a reporter who covered India's first-ever Test, in England 1932. It was easy to feel a part of history. If Sachin Tendulkar nurtured similar thoughts, I couldn't say. His connection to that Lord's Test would necessarily have more links. One route was: Kapil Dev to Erapalli Prasanna to Vijay Manjrekar to Vijay Merchant to CK Nayudu. Six degrees of separation. All that was academic as India took on Pakistan in a hastily-arranged friendly (or as friendly as you could get under the circumstances) match after overnight rain had made a full international impossible. Kapil Dev pulled out with a stiff neck. It was a theme that was to play out with greater significance later, when Navjot's Singh's stiff neck opened the slot at the top of the order, one that Tendulkar made his own with 82 off 49 balls in Auckland. "Just get a feel of the game," Srikkanth told Tendulkar. There was no plan to play the 16-year-old in a One-Day International then; you didn't throw teenagers into the deep end. But this was a team in transition. Sanjay Manjrekar was establishing himself as a pillar of the batting (he was to make a double hundred in a Test in Pakistan, after a century in Barbados against the West Indies). India's one-day future arrived with startling speed. Everything changed in 18 deliveries. Srikkanth, till then India's best regarded one-day batsman, hardly got a stroke in edgewise as Tendulkar hit five sixes off the leg spinners Abdul Qadir and Mushtaq Ahmed. The unbeaten 53 he made included 27 in one Qadir over. There was no wild slogging, just scientific and gleeful driving and pulling. Three sixes in a row. When Qadir dropped one short as Tendulkar stepped out, and was technically beaten. But he was 16, he didn't know better, and so he went through with the shot. The bat made a lovely arc, and for all we know the ball is still travelling - no one could find it. That evening Srikkanth made what must rate as an understatement. "The little bugger must play now."

[Chandan]

LINK Arise Sachin Tendulkar. The cricketer and the man December 26 2012 -1 Comment by Paddy Upton It was on the Proteas team bus that I read about Sachin Tendulkar's retirement from ODI cricket. I found myself reflecting on my three years of working with him. To me, the opportunity was a privilege. So I thought I'd share some of my reflection here. When I addressed the Indian cricket team for the first time (in 2008), I started by explaining that I did not see them as 'cricketers' but as human beings, each with many facets. Being a talented cricketer is only a part of who they are. They may also be someone's brother, son, friend, parent or partner, and each is a unique emotional, intellectual and spiritual being. I reminded them that they were born with their talent, call it God-given, which is not an achievement but a blessing. The achievement comes when they tirelessly study, train and practice to develop that talent. Between 2008-2011 I watched Sachin epitomize developing a talent. He paid more attention to and invested more time into practicing his batting than any other player. He never once cut a corner in his preparation for a game, making sure he attended to every detail. After nearly two decades in the international game he had earned the right stay at the hotel and rest while some of his teammates attended our trademark 'optional' practices. Yet he never did. Not a week went by where any player, youngsters included, hit more balls in practice. Add this attention to detail and impeccable work ethic to his extraordinary God-given talent, and it doesn't take much to figure out why he is so successful. As mentioned, being an outstanding cricketer is a part, but not all, of the man. When someone becomes a top class athlete, it does not mean they automatically become a special human. Each one starts out as an ordinary person who happens to be blessed with an extraordinary talent. To become a special person requires that they intentionally develop and mature themselves as a person just as they would work on mastering their profession. It is fairly common that a cricketer (or any sportsmen, businessmen, politician) who achieves success is lured into falsely viewing himself as a special person, believing he is more important than others by virtue of the fact he can hit a cricket ball more sweetly, and because others may treat him as more special. In India, the amount of adulation, admiration and hero-worship that is lavished on national cricketers poses a huge challenge to their humility. None have been hero-worshipped and admired as Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. He is more worshipped than some of the Hindu Gods. A priest at an ODI once brandished a banner saying, "Sorry God, but I love Sachin more than you." With his unassailable statistics and virtual deification, Sachin has earned the right to believe and act like he is special. But he does not. And it is this characteristic that impressed me at least as much as the Little Master's statistics, milestones and awe-inspiring performances. Despite his God-like status, in a country that sometimes overvalues power and status, Sachin exudes a humble, feet-on-the-ground approach. Early in my tenure with the team and during a one-on-one session with him, he spoke of a mantra that he lives by and that his father had passed to him as a young man. He granted me permission to share it. He told me that, "who I am as a person, my nature is permanent, my results on the field are temporary they will go up and go down. It is more important that I am consistent as a person, this I can control, my results I cannot" He added that, "people will criticise me for my results, and will soon forget them, but they will always remember the impact I have on them as a person. This will last forever." And so the most mobbed, harassed, pestered and interrupted person in India, rather than expecting kingly treatment from others, is constantly mindful of treating others well and respectfully. During one tour I was entering a hotel elevator with Sachin to depart for a match. A very nervous mom asked if she could take a picture of him with her two young children. We risked being late for the bus, but Sachin obliged, letting the elevator go without him. The nervous mom was shaking so much she couldn't get the camera to work. I was about to help Sachin out by rushing him along, when he turned to me and said, "Pads won't you help her with the camera, help her to get a nice picture". Most who know him have an abundance of similar stories. He shares his professionalism and teaches respect. During a net practice, a young Ishant Sharma kicked the ball in frustration after a poorly executed delivery. Sachin calmly went over, picked the ball up and returned it to Ishant, telling him in gentle manner, "it is because of this ball that you have what you have got in life, without this ball you have nothing. Treat it with the respect it is due." Fast forward to a meeting during India's triumphant 2011 ICC World Cup campaign. We're discussing cricket and life, and some of the senior players are asked to share the most significant event in their careers. Sachin's significant event left me with a lump in my throat. It happened soon after he was selected to play for India as a 16-year-old, and had returned to his Ranji Trophy team. A 16 year-old friend and teammate approached him and said "I speak on behalf of your friends. We know that you are a better cricketer than us, but since you were selected to play for India, you have been acting as if you are a better person than us. We don't think it is a good thing for you to do." Sachin marked this comment as one of the most significant events of his career, helping him to realize at a very young age that being a good cricketer did not mean he was a special person. He continues to live this lesson. As a veteran of over 22 years of international cricket, he treats junior teammates as fellow men, including them in conversations, showing an interest in their well-being, asking them questions and helping them with their game. When someone with an extraordinary God-given talent adds to it an incredibly professional, detailed and tirelessly high work ethic, brilliance arises. The world has known just one Einstein, Mozart, van Gogh, Michael Jackson and Tendulkar. When someone with brilliance adds strength of character, humility, respectfulness to being an all-round good person, then the world is blessed with not just sporting greatness, but true greatness. Arise Sachin Tendulkar.

[zen]

For once can Sachin do a Afridi and take his retirement back? :((

He can't as he is not forever "16" :P

[Chandan]

LINK I envy Indian cricket they had Tendulkar! December 26, 2012 "He went on to score a 50 in the fourth Test in Sialkot and that is when we realised that this man was a special, special talent. The man has retired. The 49-centuries hero has finally bid adieu to an illustrious 23-year-old career that changed the very definition of Indian batting. Words fail when you attempt to glorify this cricketing legend. You turn to numbers instead. If 18,426 runs at an incredible average of 44:83 in 463 matches with a record 49 centuries and 96 staggering 50s don't tell you the story, nothing ever will. Sachin Tendulkar was indeed in a league of his own. Thank you, little master. Thank you for the memories. Spoken enough from the mind; here's what the heart thinks: Sachin was a great batsman. I envy him. In fact, I envy the whole of India because he represented and scored all those runs for them. I envy him, because if Pakistan had someone of his calibre and class, we would have been a different force today. As much as I hate to admit this, the reality is that Pakistan was a Tendulkar away from glory the glory and success that deserted us throughout the last ten years in one-day cricket. In 2003, Saeed Anwar retired. He was Pakistan's run machine, someone who was considered this country's answer to Tendulkar. It's been almost 10 years now and believe it or not, we are yet to find an able replacement, an opener extraordinaire, who could tear apart bowling attacks and pile on the runs. That's when you realise how Pakistan could have done with a Tendulkar up top. How Pakistani bowlers who more often than not succeeded in restricting the oppositions to mediocre first-inning totals would have loved someone like a Tendulkar to score those runs and avoid the hiccups (read: Pakistan batting's infamous chasing blues) that earned them the 'unpredictables' tag. When was the last time you saw a Pakistani opener go on a lengthy streak playing with consistency, confidence, flamboyance and flair like Tendulkar? From the Wastis to the Nazirs, from the Afridis to the Akmals, we've seen a whole host of names come and go. But no one, no one was even remotely close to Tendulkar. The harsh reality is that we just couldn't produce one. Furthermore, I get atrociously envious thinking about what could have been if we had a Tendulkar playing for us in the 1999 World Cup final or in the disastrous 2003 and 2007 World Cups. My blood boils when I hear that tone of uncertainty in the voice of commentators when we're chasing a low total. That's the reputation we have built during the past ten years. A reputation that has developed because of the absence of a Tendulkar. This also reminds me of the popular argument that most Pakistani fans, including myself, present about all those centuries that Tendulkar scored. We say: Whenever Sachin gets a 100, India lose. Oh, who are we kidding? How does that undermine the misery he piled up on opposition teams? How was it his fault that the Indian bowlers were not good enough to clean up or restrict the opposition batsmen? That's when you think what a wonderful match Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan would have made. A match truly made in heaven. Sachin's master class supported by Pakistan's plethora of bowling talent it's the stuff dreams are made of. So don't blame me for being envious that we weren't blessed with him. I speak here as a disgruntled Pakistani fan, who respects Tendulkar from the bottom of his heart, for what he has achieved in the sport, but also hates him with equal intensity for scoring all those runs for our arch-rivals. I'm envious because Pakistan was indeed a Tendulkar away from glory through all these years. Wasim Akram, arguably one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, had this to say about Tendulkar upon his retirement: Sachin was really 16 at the time when he came to Pakistan in 1989 and Waqar and I thought, what will this 16-year-old do against us? I hit him in his face but he still showed a lot of gumption and courage and went on to score a 50 in the fourth Test in Sialkot and that is when we realised that this man was a special, special talent. Exactly, Wasim bhai, exactly!

[Chandan]

LINK What made Tendulkar first among equals Dileep Premachandran · Bangalore · Dec 23, 2012 When discussing Sachin Tendulkar, the one-day batsman, the numbers have little meaning. They just intimidate and overwhelm. Nearly four years into his One-Day International career, Sachin Tendulkar had played 60 innings. He averaged 30.86 and had made 12 half-centuries, with a highest of 84. There were mitigating factors, the main one being that he batted lower down the order, but any way you looked at it, those were ordinary numbers. They paled into insignificance next to what he had already achieved in the Test arena. He wasn't yet 21, but had scored hundreds in England, Australia (twice), South Africa, India and Sri Lanka. The Bradman comparisons had already begun. In coloured clothes though, India's Test Superman was a journeyman, someone whose breathtaking ability shone through all too rarely. To put those numbers after 60 innings into perspective, consider this. Hashim Amla, at the same stage of his career, has nearly twice as many runs at an average of 59.55. He's made ten hundreds and 19 half-centuries. That is greatness. Tendulkar wasn't even close. Then, Eden Park happened. Opening the batting did for Tendulkar what the druid's magic potion did for Asterix. In the years that followed, he didn't just break one-day records. He obliterated them. If he retires from Test cricket tomorrow, the body of work that he leaves behind will be hugely significant. But it's not incomparable. You can think of around 20 batsmen, modern and from the game's back pages, who could replicate the quality and consistency of his performances. In one-day cricket, there is no such comparison. There is Tendulkar, daylight, and then some more daylight. Of those still playing the game today, Chris Gayle tops the hundreds chart with 20. Tendulkar finished with 49, despite his focus solely being on World Cup glory since January 2010. Either side of those nine World Cup matches in 2011, he played just 14 times in three years. When discussing Tendulkar the one-day batsman, the numbers have little meaning. They just intimidate and overwhelm. What is worth talking about is the manner in which he constantly reinvented himself. There's little doubt that, as with the boxing great Muhammad Ali, watching him was a more visceral and thrilling experience in the first half of his career. The two Desert Storm innings in 1998 were the Tendulkar equivalent of Ali outclassing Cleveland Williams the athlete at the peak of his powers as the irresistible force. But it's not the destruction of Williams that Ali is most remembered for. It's for the trilogy with Joe Frazier, and the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman. All those fights took place when he was either approaching 30 or past it, after he had experienced pain and disappointment and even defeat after the illusions of invincibility had been shattered. In the same way, Tendulkar's finest one-day innings were probably played once he had had to familiarise himself with the idea of struggle. As the years passed, he understood one-day batting in a way that few others did. Few played the percentages better, or knew their strengths and weaknesses as well. There were times when he could bring to mind the teenager who had discovered the cheat codes to a video game. Sadly, when people talk of him, the hype often overshadows the substance. Take the 98 against Pakistan at Centurion during the 2003 World Cup. Almost always, the discussions are about that six over third man. Great shot, yes, but there was enough width there for a top batsman to take advantage of. The stroke that really deflated the Pakistan fielders and the fans watching on TV came later in the over. Back of a length from Shoaib Akhtar, and no more than an apologetic push from Tendulkar. The ball sped past the mid-on fielder and teased him all the way to the rope. If anyone ever asks you to think of a shot that exemplified Tendulkar the limited-overs batsman, it should be that. The greatest tribute to Tendulkar hasn't come in the form of words or gestures or awards. It's come from the batting of Virat Kohli. He may still be finding his way in Test cricket, but Kohli the one-day bat is well on the way to being a master. And the similarities with Tendulkar are unmistakable. The latter-day Tendulkar played in his own bubble, aware that he knew the permutations and combinations better than anyone else. In the World Cup game against England last year, he took 43 deliveries to ease to 24. The trigger fingers in press boxes and on social-networking sites had already been given a workout. Off the next 60 balls he faced, he scored 78 runs. There were few strokes he didn't play. Kohli, possibly having observed that, also marches to his own beat. The 49 centuries will be mentioned countless times, especially the 200 against Dale Steyn and friends when he was nearly 37. But like the Centurion innings, some of his finest never saw him raise the bat for three figures. There was a 90 against Australia in front of his home crowd during the 1996 World Cup, and a 95 against Pakistan in Lahore in 2006, less than a fortnight after newspapers had led with Tendulkar headlines. We spoke at length about that Lahore innings a few months later. Mohammad Asif bowled a dream spell that night under lights, getting movement in the air and off the pitch. Rahul Dravid, whose mastery of the defensive arts is beyond dispute, was moved this way and that like a marionette on a string. Tendulkar's judgment was incredible. It wasn't the shots he played, so much as the one he didn't. He'd watched the ball like a hawk out of Asif's hand, he told me. But on occasion, he'd also needed to cover the movement off the seam. Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni saw India home that night, but it was Tendulkar's 95 that was instrumental in setting up the game. You could sense his excitement when he spoke of that Asif spell, just as you could see the animation on his face when he spoke of Warne and McGrath and Steyn. It's perhaps fitting that his last great one-day innings came in Nagpur, against South Africa on a day when a fired-up Steyn turned out to be the match-winner. As long as Tendulkar was out there, batting appeared all too easy. Once he was dismissed, Steyn ran amok. Most of all though, we should recall Tendulkar's urge to push on, the endeavour to improve no matter what the circumstances. He'Íl obviously be remembered for the records, many of which will never be surpassed. Most of all though, we should recall that urge to push on, the endeavour to improve no matter what the circumstances. R Kaushik, my colleague, and I often talk of a net session at Centurion at the end of a one-day series (2006) in which India had been comprehensively outclassed. It took us a while to figure out what was happening. Ian Frazer, Greg Chappell's assistant, was giving throwdowns from 10 yards. Before each ball, he would yell out a name 'Pollock' 'Ntini' 'Nel' and the angle and trajectory of the throw would change accordingly. India lost miserably the following day, but Tendulkar made 55 not pretty, but workmanlike and bereft of exceptional highlights. That innings, towards the end of one of the worst years of his career, was also a wonderful illustration of his greatness. He chased excellence, and fleetingly managed to grasp perfection.