Entertainer in twilight zone

December 19, 2012

sachin_gone

Nagpur, December 19: At present, no one would like to be Sachin Tendulkar. Runs once came in torrents, now the flow has been reduced to a trickle. He hasn’t scored a Test hundred since that magnificent 146 at Cape Town against South Africa on January 4, 2011. And at 39, pressure is on him to bring curtains on a career that is now in its 23rd year.

It’s a difficult situation. For well over two decades, Tendulkar has just played cricket, and that sport has been his world. It’s quite tough to cut ties with that world in a single day, especially for a batsman like Tendulkar, who has been on top of his trade for a larger part of that period. Despite a prolonged barren run, there will always be the image of another golden series in his mind, and that’s precisely the dilemma he has to deal with.

And only he can deal with it. Only he can tell with surety whether the current lean patch is the indication of a terminal decline or is it only a phase that he is struggling for runs. For that he needs to take some time away from the hullabaloo around him, and reflect on the last two series – against New Zealand and England. Meanwhile, let’s go through those series as well.


A young set of Kiwi pace bowlers – Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell – managed to sneak through his defence three times, and it was quite a sad sight to see him losing the battle against players who were just making their entry into this world when the Mumbaikar made his Test debut.

England bowlers had a far greater hold on him. Though he made a fifty in the first innings of the Kolkata Test, that 76 was more like a desperate effort to keep himself afloat. On that day, he took 43 balls to reach double figures on a flat pitch. There was no life in that innings, struggling to put away even rank long-hops.

He never tamed Monty Panesar or James Anderson throughout the series. Tendulkar never could assess Panesar’s length correctly, often leaving him in no-man’s land or playing those nothing shots. Anderson troubled him to no extent with reverse swing, and England captain Alastair Cook was wise enough to employ these two bowlers immediately after Tendulkar’s arrival at the crease.

In that 76, there was just two fours in front of the wicket – a cover drive off Panesar and a punch through mid-on off Steven Finn. Rest of the 11 fours came through edges, paddle sweeps and squirts through the fine leg area, an indication of his hesitancy to go forward on pitches that demanded such a strategy.

That tentativeness has been the common feature of his outings against New Zealand and England. Now, Tendulkar needs to rewind those outings in his mind, and deliberate whether there’s a return for him as he had managed five years ago, scoring runs and hundreds in a bulk.

There’s another home series coming against Australia in February, and India embark on a slew of away tours, beginning with their trip to South Africa in November 2013. Tendulkar should ponder whether he would able to stand the rigours and contribute in those series. Emotions are certain to flood him during those hours because cricket has been such a massive part of his life.

Here, he needs to compartmentalise himself from sentiments, and prudence should rule his decision. There might not be a man-to-man replacement for him, and then you’ll never be able to replace a player like Tendulkar for he is a phenomenon.
But we need to trust the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Cheteshwer Pujara, and Virat Kohli to take India forward, and the last two have already shown their readiness to shoulder that responsibility. In sports, only teams ready to take that bold plunge have attained greatness.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni had underlined that point. “If you don’t give youngsters chances, how do you know whether they are good enough or not? You won’t get all of them scoring big hundreds in the first game. You have to back youngsters who you think are very talented, who you think can succeed at the top level,” said the Indian skipper.

In the same breath Dhoni, in tune with the entire team’s desire, hoped Tendulkar would be around for some more time. Yes, Tendulkar’s extraordinary career, in a major part of which he carried the expectations of a billion people without any complaint, deserves a grand farewell. But he needs to chart it well.



Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: Cricket's slow geographical expansion is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) which looks set to beat the dreaded novel coronavirus threat and go ahead as scheduled.

At a time when the number of recorded deaths because of the deadly outbreak across the globe is touching 3500 with a plethora of international sporting events getting cancelled, the IPL seems to be in a parallel universe where "all is well".

And there are multiple practical reasons why the T20 extravaganza will be held as per schedule. A major reason is the small number of countries that play the game and an even smaller fraction of overseas players, who will compete in the world's richest cricket league starting March 29 in Mumbai.

Till Thursday, the reported number of positive COVID-19 cases in India stood at 29, including 16 Italian tourists. However, none of the overseas recruits of eight IPL franchises have expressed any apprehensions about travelling to India.

Just over 60 players from cricket nations such as Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the Caribbean islands comprise the elite foreign brigade and the reported positive cases of coronavirus in all these countries is next to none.

"The IOC is saying Olympics in Tokyo will be held as per schedule. In comparison, IPL is a minuscule tournament. If Olympics can be held, there's no reason why IPL can't be held," a BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

STAR SPORTS FACTOR

The second and perhaps the biggest reason is broadcasters. Star Sports has bought the rights for Rs 16,347 crore (USD 2.55 billion) for a period of five years and their advertising revenues will take a huge hit if the tournament doesnt go ahead as planned. Former Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua explained the economics. "Look Star as well as BCCI has got everything insured. I don't know if there is any specific insurance cover for cancellation due to coronavirus but there is no chance of that happening if I read the situation properly," Dua told PTI.

GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES

The BCCI is also depending on the guidelines given by the government with regards to dealing with the health crisis.  "Every person availing international flights will be screened for coronavirus at the port of entry. That is the biggest health security measure. Obviously the BCCI will strictly adhere to any health advisory that government will issue," a Board official said.

But since there is an advisory that social gatherings are inadvisable at this point, won't it affect the league? "You will only come to know once the ticket sales start. If the stadiums are packed, that means people are coming but if stands are largely empty, then you can presume that people are wary.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 10,2020

Jan 10: Australian cricketer Shane Warne’s prized 'baggy green' cap raised more than A$1 million ($686,000) on Friday for bushfire relief efforts after the former leg-spinner donated it for auction.

Twenty-seven people have been killed and thousands made homeless in recent months as huge fires scorched through more than 25.5 million acres of land, an area the size of South Korea.

The baggy green is presented to Australian players when they make their Test debut and they receive just one for their entire career. The Aussie cricketer donated the cap to an online auction site on Monday. The auction closed at 10 a.m. on Friday (2300 GMT Thursday) with a final public bid of A$1,007,500.

"Unbelievable … so generous from everyone. Totally blown away," Warne said on Twitter shortly before the auction closed.

The auction attracted global interest and the price eclipsed the A$425,000 achieved by the late Don Bradman's baggy green when it was sold in 2003.

"We have been overwhelmed and it is a fantastic result," Marc Cheah, head of marketing for auctioneers Pickles, said.

"Other baggy greens have been auctioned and Don Bradman’s got $425,000 about 15 years ago, but the Don is the Don. He’s the greatest cricketer that ever lived," Cheah said in relation to the widely held recognition Bradman was the best batsman the game has produced.

"But Shane is also right up there and that drove a lot of traffic and momentum, while the cause is also very worthwhile."

Warne, 50, is one of many local and international athletes to support the fundraising for bushfire victims with several cricketers promising to donate a sum based on the number of sixes they hit in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 competition.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.