Most people who know me know that I am crazy about cricket and even more crazy about Sachin Tendulkar. For me, he is the symbol of authority and passion.
But the way he has been playing over the last year and a half, I must concede that his era is now finally over. No longer does he stamp his authority on matches, the way he used to. No longer does he dominate over the bowling. No bowler seems to have wet pants before bowling to him anymore. No more is Sachin the Sachin we loved.
Out of the last 9 innings he has been dismissed for a single digit score on 7 occassions. The other two being a decent 55 and a very scratchy 20. On top of that, he has been out either bowled or LBW on most occasions and bowlers like De Bruyn and Andrew Hall are managing to scatter his stumps. Five years ago, these very bowlers would have been smashed all over the park and thrown out of gear. Gone are those days when careers of bowlers were destroyed just because they had to face the bad luck of bowling to him in the early stages of their careers.
The way he plays these days, he just faces 'n' deliveries and then goes out for a cheap score. The urge of scoring quick runs and putting the opposition under pressure seems to have disappeared altogether. They say that as a person gets older, he loses his impulsive nature (‘khoon ki garmi’) , but with Sachin this transformation has come about a bit too early. He does not play the glorious drives in the ‘V’ anymore. He just tries to nudge the ball on the sides and as a result becomes a victim of incoming deliveries.
The most disappointing fact is that Sachin does not seem to realize that this change in his batting style isn’t doing any good either to him or to the team. He feels that since he is one of the senior members, he must bat with more responsibility. It’s all crap.
All I have to say is that I don’t think that Sachin will get back to his old self, at least in test cricket. The dream that Sachin will set unbeatable records in both forms of the game will remain a dream. Four years from now it will be time to bid adieu, but if he continues to play in this way, he must be kicked out in year or two.
But the way he has been playing over the last year and a half, I must concede that his era is now finally over. No longer does he stamp his authority on matches, the way he used to. No longer does he dominate over the bowling. No bowler seems to have wet pants before bowling to him anymore. No more is Sachin the Sachin we loved.
Out of the last 9 innings he has been dismissed for a single digit score on 7 occassions. The other two being a decent 55 and a very scratchy 20. On top of that, he has been out either bowled or LBW on most occasions and bowlers like De Bruyn and Andrew Hall are managing to scatter his stumps. Five years ago, these very bowlers would have been smashed all over the park and thrown out of gear. Gone are those days when careers of bowlers were destroyed just because they had to face the bad luck of bowling to him in the early stages of their careers.
The way he plays these days, he just faces 'n' deliveries and then goes out for a cheap score. The urge of scoring quick runs and putting the opposition under pressure seems to have disappeared altogether. They say that as a person gets older, he loses his impulsive nature (‘khoon ki garmi’) , but with Sachin this transformation has come about a bit too early. He does not play the glorious drives in the ‘V’ anymore. He just tries to nudge the ball on the sides and as a result becomes a victim of incoming deliveries.
The most disappointing fact is that Sachin does not seem to realize that this change in his batting style isn’t doing any good either to him or to the team. He feels that since he is one of the senior members, he must bat with more responsibility. It’s all crap.
All I have to say is that I don’t think that Sachin will get back to his old self, at least in test cricket. The dream that Sachin will set unbeatable records in both forms of the game will remain a dream. Four years from now it will be time to bid adieu, but if he continues to play in this way, he must be kicked out in year or two.
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