Tendulkar remains a man apart - Robert Craddock

[DesiChap]

Tendulkar remains a man apart By Robert Craddock December 22, 2007 HANGING conspicuously on the wall of Sachin Tendulkar's privately owned restaurant in Mumbai is an Australia one-day shirt once owned by Andrew Symonds. It contains Symonds'S signature and the brief, poignant message "to Sachin ... the man we all want to be". In those six simple words, Symonds sums up the feeling of a generation of cricketers to whom Tendulkar is a captivating force, the heroes' hero, the man you can't take your eye off. Brian Lara has more Test runs (though only by 664 now), others have played more Tests, and any number of Australians have won more major Test series and World Cups. However, even as Tendulkar's performances fade, there is a special aura the Indian alone possesses. It's not just the fact that, after a debut in Test cricket as a choirboy-faced 16-year-old, he has spent 18 years near the peak of his profession - and still looks like a choirboy. It's the fact that he has managed to keep much of himself to himself in an era where celebrities have their inner souls stripped bare. Quiet, polite and humble, he does not let anyone bar those closest to him to reach out and touch the real man. Tendulkar has grown from a boy to a man with a billion eyes watching him, yet somehow managed to sidestep the Britney Spears syndrome that engulfs teenage heart-throbs. He lives well, but there have been no periods of wild excess and he remains earthy enough to boast to friends he can cook a decent chicken curry. Tendulkar loathes controversy and has essentially avoided it. Oddly, his sporting hero is John McEnroe, perhaps because McEnroe allowed himself the volcanic freedom of expression that Sachin would never be bold enough to accord himself. In India's cashed-up corporate world, players will jump through hoops for big money. Virender Sehwag has dressed up as Superman for one commercial and a well-groomed gent from London's Oxford Street in another. Tendulkar, however, whether promoting bank cards or cola drinks, only plays Sachin. Advertisers feel his engaging smile and warm lines of communication are enough to increase sales by several percentage points - and that's big bucks in India. Former India coach John Wright says newcomers to the Indian dressing room take two or three games to feel comfortable "because they spend the first few games watching Sachin and learning how to interact with him as a teammate". No group of Australian cricketers admired Tendulkar more than the luckless bunch who saw him peel off 446 runs in three Tests against them on the subcontinent in 1998. They became so infatuated by him that most even bought copies of his famously heavy Vampire bat and brought them back to Australia so they could test them and give a copy to their own batmakers just to see whether they were, in fact, cricket's version of a magic wand. At age 34, Tendulkar is almost certainly embarking on his last tour of Australia. Cold, indisputable numbers say he is not the batsman he was. If you take out a couple of fill-your-boots series against Bangladesh, his form in recent years has been modest - with an average of just 35 from his past nine series against all nations except Bangladesh. Glenn McGrath rated Lara ahead of Tendulkar among batsmen he bowled to "because of the way he played more shots and could hurt you a bit more", though Shane Warne disagreed. "I place him very slightly ahead of Lara because I found him slightly tougher mentally," Warne said. "You have to watch India in India to truly appreciate the pressure that Sachin is under every time he bats. "Outside grounds, people wait until he goes in before paying to enter. They seem to want a wicket to fall even though it is their own side that will suffer. "This is cricket as Sachin has known it since the age of 16. He grew up under incredible weight of expectation and never buckled once. He is quiet and humble. A great player and a great man." As great as he has been, his career has proved that if you had a choice between a great bowler and a great batsman - you would take the former. New Zealand fast bowling great Richard Hadlee, simply by his formidable presence, made the Kiwis an entirely different team who went from being lower table battlers to a force against anyone when he played. Tendulkar never lifted India in this way. Apart from series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Indian teams in which he played won just nine of 75 Tests overseas. Sad but true ... if you haven't got bowlers, you haven't got a chance. One certainty for Australia this summer is that they know, like Allan Border and Steve Waugh before him, Tendulkar will not be consumed by ego as he enters his final years. He will bat within the bounds of his form at the time and won't try and prove anything to anyone. If that means scoring runs half as quickly as Adam Gilchrist, so be it. The last time he was in Australia, Tendulkar was exasperated by the way he was edging the ball to slip so he simply took the cover drive out of his game in the last Test in Sydney - and made a double-century. It was an extraordinary piece of self-denial. Geoff Lawson, who coached Pakistan in this month's series against India, says Tendulkar "is not at his peak, but has not slipped too far" while former Australia coach John Buchanan senses tough times for him this summer. "What I have been seeing for a while is that his feet don't move much early on in his innings," Buchanan said. "That makes the short ball a great weapon this summer. You can force him back then look for the full ball he might squirt to slips. He still has greatness within him, but it does not appear that regularly." His form may be dimming but, for the Australian players who saw him at his zenith, the memories remain strong. "When Sachin was at his peak around 2000, his fearless batting was devastating to opposition teams, including Australia," Adam Gilchrist said. "Statistically he ranks No.1 but even stats don't do him justice when he was at full flight." http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,22962876-23212,00.html

[Guest Hiten.]

Brilliant effing write up. Thanks a ton dude Some quotes to cherish from this article:

Virender Sehwag has dressed up as Superman for one commercial and a well-groomed gent from London's Oxford Street in another. Tendulkar, however, whether promoting bank cards or cola drinks, only plays Sachin.

The last time he was in Australia, Tendulkar was exasperated by the way he was edging the ball to slip so he simply took the cover drive out of his game in the last Test in Sydney - and made a double-century. It was an extraordinary piece of self-denial.

[fineleg]

Hope Wasim Jaffer denies himself the pull shot like SRT denied himself the cover drive

[Chaos]

wow a great piece. Simply put, he is a damn genius. His strokes alone can make a crying baby sleep.

[HouMac]

UGH. I can't wait for the series to begin. I'm tired of these fluff pieces.

[Ram]

In terms of how a celebrity should behave in a public space, Sachin is the ultimate bench-mark. He has somehow managed to keep his personal life surprisingly private and unlike most superstars who have gotten into troubles like drug-abuse, indiscipline, his behaviour has been impeccable. And that is precisely the reason why the whole of India erupted in uncontrolled anger when that incompetent idiot of a match refree, Mike Deness, punished Sachin for Ball-tampering. Sachin's conduct, both on and off the cricketing field, during the entire career span of 18 years, has been nothing short of stunning. And I remember watching the post-match briefing that took place just after the match in which Mike Deness was sat in front of the media trying to explain his decision. The ICC officials, to prevent further fuel being added to the fire, decided to answer all the question on behalf of Mike. As Deness was sat in the corner silently, Ravi Shastri, who was part of the commentary team, was also present in that press- conference, launched a stinging attack on Denesss. He first asked how " Sachin could have possibly scratched the ball, when close-up replays showed that he didnt have any nails at all" and when it was informed that Denness wouldnt be answering any questions, he sarcastically quipped , " Then why the hell is he here ? We all know how Mike Denness looks like". That was the day i realized that Shastri wouldnt tolerate any sort of nonsense from anyone. Maybe, that was the reason why he never captained India for a significant period of time, despite accredited with having a good cricketing acumen. The selectors possibly didnt wanted to risk appointing such an independent captain.

[fineleg]

UGH. I can't wait for the series to begin. I'm tired of these fluff pieces.

HouMac, :two_thumbs_up: Maybe they are writing all these fluff before the series starts for a reason.

[The Outsider]

Maybe, that was the reason why he never captained India for a significant period of time, despite accredited with having a good cricketing acumen.

As much as I like Shastri's brain but in a very short span of his career was he a certainty in both forms of the game and not over shadowed by better captains, maybe a couple of years after Kapil was shown the door and Srikkanth captained in Pakistan.

[siddhu]

In terms of how a celebrity should behave in a public space, Sachin is the ultimate bench-mark. He has somehow managed to keep his personal life surprisingly private and unlike most superstars who have gotten into troubles like drug-abuse, indiscipline, his behaviour has been impeccable. And that is precisely the reason why the whole of India erupted in uncontrolled anger when that incompetent idiot of a match refree, Mike Deness, punished Sachin for Ball-tampering. Sachin's conduct, both on and off the cricketing field, during the entire career span of 18 years, has been nothing short of stunning. And I remember watching the post-match briefing that took place just after the match in which Mike Deness was sat in front of the media trying to explain his decision. The ICC officials, to prevent further fuel being added to the fire, decided to answer all the question on behalf of Mike. As Deness was sat in the corner silently, Ravi Shastri, who was part of the commentary team, was also present in that press- conference, launched a stinging attack on Denesss. He first asked how " Sachin could have possibly scratched the ball, when close-up replays showed that he didnt have any nails at all" and when it was informed that Denness wouldnt be answering any questions, he sarcastically quipped , " Then why the hell is he here ? We all know how Mike Denness looks like". That was the day i realized that Shastri wouldnt tolerate any sort of nonsense from anyone. Maybe, that was the reason why he never captained India for a significant period of time, despite accredited with having a good cricketing acumen. The selectors possibly didnt wanted to risk appointing such an independent captain.

completely agree.. Although Shastri himself went through the "Britney Spears Syndrome" of sorts... getting tied up with actresses and the ultimately loosing his form and position in the team..

[fineleg]

From a Ravi Shastri Interview - he is very candid and open. Good for him :thumbs_up:: You mean all those stories about Amrita Singh and Gabriela Sabatini were true? RS: Oh yes that is true. I have said that before. When you are doing well and young you get a lot of attention. And I enjoyed the attention. From another article: His affairs with Amrita Singh, and hold your breath, Gabriela Sabatini (This has been later confirmed by Ravi Shastri in many of his interviews) have been well chronicled, and went well with the ‘casanova’ image he carried.

[The Outsider]

I'll believe it when Sabatini confirms it.:D BTW, she is looking ugly in that picture.

[fineleg]

I'll believe it when Sabatini confirms it.:D BTW, she is looking ugly in that picture.

LOL! From her tennis days...

[Ram]

Shastri and Sabatini ! She was arguably the hottest female ever to have played the game ! Nicely done Sir ! :two_thumbs_up:

[Shehezaada]

Shastri and Sabatini ! She was arguably the hottest female ever to have played the game ! Nicely done Sir ! :two_thumbs_up:

not hotter then anna kournikova

[Laaloo]

gr8 stuff dude thxx for sharing

[chamatkar]

Sachin's conduct, both on and off the cricketing field, during the entire career span of 18 years, has been nothing short of stunning.

*cough*....ferrari..*cough, cough*... taxes...*cough*

[kabira]

what did he do with ferrari??

[Anakin]

*cough*....ferrari..*cough' date=' cough*... taxes...*cough*[/quote']Yes we all know about your stupidity, no need to cough, but in case you still have it, we have some docs in the forum who can help.