No reason to think about my future: Sachin

[Guest Hiten.]

I just want him to play in the mode that made him great and not p.ssyfoot in tests like he does now. Yes' date=' to a great extent but he isn't always right. Taking blows on the body intentionally IMO is just due to the ability to cope with that kind of bowling (which I don't think is the case here) or the sheer lack of mental strength to deal fire with fire. [b']Consider a hypothetical situation, where SRT was 10 years younger than he currently is and was facing Anderson dishing out this stuff. What do you think would have been his approach? IMO, he would have smoked him. Just worries me that the decline in tests has been so rapid :( Damn, I cant even hypothetically consider a scenario where Viv Richards or Bradman (with whom SRT is always compared against) would have done such a thing!!

you're retaliating you're own argument now. SRT 10 yrs ago and now is totally different, he has more responsibilities then he did 10 yrs before. Any wrong shot by him would've cost India the game (Picture Shahid Afridi's Poor shot selection vs SA in 5th ODI).

[Ram]

Sachin will never tell the truth to the media on any issue. He who fears most for his good name in the outside world will never be truthful to himself. Either Sachin is living in denial or is a brilliant actor. My only prayer is that the selectors dont treat him like they have done Dravid, shabbily. But that is a remote possibility only, considering that the Marathi lobby is well and truly entrenched in high echelons of the BCCI. Heck, they even want to make him captain, EVEN after he has proven to be a pathetic failure as captain in two long stints. That just shows the extent of politics in the BCCI right now. If i am young member of the Indian cricket team, i wouldnt Sachin as my captain. He is a pathetic strategist, his mind goes blank in pressure situations and worse, he himself fails when the need of the team is biggest.

[gs]

you're retaliating you're own argument now. SRT 10 yrs ago and now is totally different' date=' he has more responsibilities then he did 10 yrs before. Any wrong shot by him would've cost India the game (Picture Shahid Afridi's Poor shot selection vs SA in 5th ODI).[/quote'] I don't see any conflicting views here. The reason I used SRT himself as an example is because I am trying to say that its so unlike SRT to take intentionally take blows on the body from England's Agarkar. The fact that he is doing isnt because of some grand plan in his mind (irrespective of how he tries to spin it now in the media) but due to loss of ability or mental strength. Dont try to convince me that only way to play short pitched stuff is using your own body as a shield for someone of SRT's calibre..I dont buy that argument:P

[Chandan]

I don't see any conflicting views here. The reason I used SRT himself as an example is because I am trying to say that its so unlike SRT to take intentionally take blows on the body from England's Agarkar. The fact that he is doing isnt because of some grand plan in his mind (irrespective of how he tries to spin it now in the media) but due to loss of ability or mental strength. Dont try to convince me that only way to play short pitched stuff is using your own body as a shield for someone of SRT's calibre..I dont buy that argument:P

What do you mean here? A player lacking mental strength can take body blows?

[gs]

What do you mean here? A player lacking mental strength can take body blows?

Not a blanket statement, but applicable in this context only. Why else would one intentionally take body blows from someone like Anderson? Its either due to loss of ability or lack of faith in ones ability which can be attributed to ones mental strength.

[King]

I just want him to play in the mode that made him great and not p.ssyfoot in tests like he does now. Yes' date=' to a great extent but he isn't always right. Taking blows on the body intentionally IMO is just due to the ability to cope with that kind of bowling (which I don't think is the case here) or the sheer lack of mental strength to deal fire with fire. Consider a hypothetical situation, where SRT was 10 years younger than he currently is and was facing Anderson dishing out this stuff. What do you think would have been his approach? IMO, he would have smoked him. Just worries me that the decline in tests has been so rapid :( Damn, I cant even hypothetically consider a scenario where Viv Richards or Bradman (with whom SRT is always compared against) would have done such a thing!![/quote'] 10 years ago I remember a lot of commies saying he plays far too many shots and gets out rather than seeing through the team till the end. One such article is from Gavaskar after Sachin failed to stick around against Zimbabwe and got out to an aggressive shot. You can read that article here It's "Damned if I, damned if I don't" for Sachin Tendulkar all the time. Read the following if you can't reach the above link :

Waugh better than Sachin: Gavaskar

Sydney, June 24 Former Indian master batsman Sunil Gavaskar rates Australia captain Steve Waugh as a better batsman in modern Test cricket than India’s Sachin Tendulkar. Writing a syndicated column in Australian newspapers today, Gavaskar said that Waugh was superior because of his ability to deliver the goods for his team in tight situations.

Gavaskar criticised Tendulkar for throwing away his wicket during the second Test won by Zimbabwe in Harare last week, when the hosts squared the two-match series with a four-wicket victory. Tendulkar, on 69, carved a widish delivery to point to trigger an India collapse on the fourth day. The tourists slipped from the comfortable platform of 197 for three to 234 all out, leaving Zimbabwe with a modest victory target of 157. “It’s time to listen to the Australians, who rate their captain as the best Test batsman in the world for his ability to either win or save matches for his team outside his home environs,” Gavaskar wrote. “It was the batting that let the team (India) down. When batsmen who are set, (who) have done all the hard work, throw their wickets away to loose shots, then the team is never going to put enough runs on the board.” “Why blame VVS Laxman when the best batsman in the universe (Tendulkar) gets a half-century and then gets out, when a big score from him is the crying need of the team.’’ Reuters

[Chandan]

Not a blanket statement' date=' but applicable in this context only. Why else would one intentionally take body blows from someone like Anderson? Its either due to loss of ability or lack of faith in ones ability which can be attributed to ones mental strength.[/quote'] So you agree that it not due to being mentally fragile? I just cannot imagine a player taking body blows unless he is really really strong mentally. If you think it is lack of ability to hook or pull, you just have to watch the 2nd ODI vs SA at Belfast barely a week before the England tour where he unleashed the hook and pull on Ntini and co. The awesome display of horizontal bat shots on display that day. It is not as if he has lost those strokes. Why can't you simply agree that he didn't want to get out at that time and hence didn't take any risk? He was playing according to team's need and we should appreciate it, instead of looking at it scornfully!

[dial_100]

leave the guy alone.. lets talk about him after the series. Many have said lot about him before eng tour. So lets try to save some word for after the series..

[bharat297]

Sachin in the 2nd test received a short ball , tried to play a relatively safe shot and hit it straight to the fielder ... he would have been regretting that shot and England would have set up the fielders for that particular plan. The next game he made sure that regardless of even if he was finding it tough he didnt throw away his wicket, that is the mark of a great batsman. I mean, one of the things that made Steve Waugh great was that even when the going got tough he stood there and kept his wicket, which was something that Sachin did in both the 2nd and 3rd test, he came in both times when the game was in the balance and left both times when India were well and truly in front. I mean, aggression doesnt always get you out of every scenario, and in both innings, once Tendulkar got to about 40 or 50, he started to play a lot more aggressively anyway. Criticising Sachin now because he gets hit in the body , and doesnt throw his wicket away... what are the haters running out of material? Anyway I dont mind keep going , I just laugh because the comments get stupider and stupider and Sachin proves them wrong anwyay so keep going.

[gs]

So you agree that it not due to being mentally fragile? I just cannot imagine a player taking body blows unless he is really really strong mentally. If you think it is lack of ability to hook or pull, you just have to watch the 2nd ODI vs SA at Belfast barely a week before the England tour where he unleashed the hook and pull on Ntini and co. The awesome display of horizontal bat shots on display that day. It is not as if he has lost those strokes. Why can't you simply agree that he didn't want to get out at that time and hence didn't take any risk? He was playing according to team's need and we should appreciate it, instead of looking at it scornfully!

Huh? Where did I agree that he was not p.ssy footing in that particular innings? Taking body blows sends out a wrong signal to the dressing room and to the opposition. I cant think of any thing coming from such an act except super charging the opposition and setting panic among the other batsmen in the dressing room. A similar innings in SAF in the 2nd innings of the deciding 3rd test cost us the series! Yes, I did see his pulling/hooking abilities but that was on display probably for the first time in several years. Why not use the weapon when you have it in your arsenal?!? Never mentioned that SRT has lost his skills, but maybe it has only drastically waned or maybe he has lost faith in his own abilities. I just cant agree that taking body blows is the best way to play short pitched bowling. Maybe we just have different perspectives, and that's fine by me.

[gs]

10 years ago I remember a lot of commies saying he plays far too many shots and gets out rather than seeing through the team till the end. One such article is from Gavaskar after Sachin failed to stick around against Zimbabwe and got out to an aggressive shot. You can read that article here It's "Damned if I, damned if I don't" for Sachin Tendulkar all the time. Read the following if you can't reach the above link :

Waugh better than Sachin: Gavaskar

I agree, he has to face a lot of criticisms and his actions are scrutinized far more than anyone else's but that's the nature of the beast - the same people revere him as the super star or the God of cricket, dont they? No one questions his greatness here, but I don't understand this blind admiration - can he not do anything wrong?!?

[King]

I agree' date=' he has to face a lot of criticisms and his actions are scrutinized far more than anyone else's but that's the nature of the beast - the same people revere him as the super star or the God of cricket, dont they? No one questions his greatness here, but I don't understand this blind admiration - can he not do anything wrong?!?[/quote'] It's not blind admiration but stating the facts. If he plays like he did in the 90s he will get out early often but will belt few big hundreds in the process as well. The average will still look good considering he will score enough runs to keep average afloat. The problem though is high risk attached with aggressive batting approach. Players like Gilly, Sehwag, Lara or the likes are good examples of this. Currently Tendulkar is trying to hang in there to put enough runs on the board in the process sacrificing thrilling stroke play and aggressive batting. I think he'll be quite content even if he puts together 40 odd runs for the better of the team now than go and either belt a quick hundred or in the process get out in single figures. Personally I wish to see him like he used to bat in the 90s but I know a player changes over the years owing to age, form, attitude and other variables. I think these days he looks less brutal but more skillful. From his perspective I think he reckons he cannot please everyone and does what is best for the team.

[MundaPakistani]

Is that for real? I haven't heard a batsman wanting to take a body blow intentionally. .

Yeah next time when he loses his middle stump will he come out saying " It was intentional"? In all seriousness he is still good enough to make hefty contributions in both forms of the game and it will silly to underestimate his ability and experience.

[jf1gp_1]

bottom line bye bye world cup 2011.

[gs]

It's not blind admiration but stating the facts. If he plays like he did in the 90s he will get out early often but will belt few big hundreds in the process as well. The average will still look good considering he will score enough runs to keep average afloat. The problem though is high risk attached with aggressive batting approach. Players like Gilly' date= Sehwag, Lara or the likes are good examples of this. Currently Tendulkar is trying to hang in there to put enough runs on the board in the process sacrificing thrilling stroke play and aggressive batting. I think he'll be quite content even if he puts together 40 odd runs for the better of the team now than go and either belt a quick hundred or in the process get out in single figures. Personally I wish to see him like he used to bat in the 90s but I know a player changes over the years owing to age, form, attitude and other variables. I think these days he looks less brutal but more skillful. From his perspective I think he reckons he cannot please everyone and does what is best for the team.

Fair enough. Might I add to the bolded text - and to ensure his place in the team as well.

[anbuchelvan]

Sachin will never tell the truth to the media on any issue. He who fears most for his good name in the outside world will never be truthful to himself. Either Sachin is living in denial or is a brilliant actor. My only prayer is that the selectors dont treat him like they have done Dravid, shabbily. But that is a remote possibility only, considering that the Marathi lobby is well and truly entrenched in high echelons of the BCCI. Heck, they even want to make him captain, EVEN after he has proven to be a pathetic failure as captain in two long stints. That just shows the extent of politics in the BCCI right now. If i am young member of the Indian cricket team, i wouldnt Sachin as my captain. He is a pathetic strategist, his mind goes blank in pressure situations and worse, he himself fails when the need of the team is biggest.

Lucky You have not played for India.Pity that you did not understand neither Sachin nor Dravid.

[Chandan]

Not a blanket statement' date=' but applicable in this context only. Why else would one intentionally take body blows from someone like Anderson? [b']Its either due to loss of ability or lack of faith in ones ability which can be attributed to ones mental strength.

Huh? Where did I agree that he was not p.ssy footing in that particular innings? Taking body blows sends out a wrong signal to the dressing room and to the opposition. I cant think of any thing coming from such an act except super charging the opposition and setting panic among the other batsmen in the dressing room. A similar innings in SAF in the 2nd innings of the deciding 3rd test cost us the series! Yes, I did see his pulling/hooking abilities but that was on display probably for the first time in several years. Why not use the weapon when you have it in your arsenal?!? Never mentioned that SRT has lost his skills, but maybe it has only drastically waned or maybe he has lost faith in his own abilities. I just cant agree that taking body blows is the best way to play short pitched bowling. Maybe we just have different perspectives, and that's fine by me.

That is your way of seeing things. I think, Sachin, having played 18 years of international cricket is a better judge than what you are. And the results are showing. We are winning a lot more than we did in 90s. So obviously he must be doing something right for the team. Or do you disagree with that too?