To be or what to be

Sachin’s end-career slump is the worst among Indian batting icons but is he handcuffed to cricket?

The Economic Times, 19 September, 2012

Even the hype around the T20 world cup cannot quite drown the buzz over Sachin Tendulkar’s tenacious longevity. Tendulkar-baiting may have suddenly become fashionable but it is time for a few home truths. By contemporary and historical standards, Tendulkar’s current form does not merit prolonging his career.

Since he scored his last Test hundred at Cape Town in January 2011, Tendulkar has played 13 Tests and scored five 50s, averaging 35.04. Even Saurav Ganguly, the least accomplished Test batsman among the fab four, maintained a higher average of 35.59, including five 50s and one 100, in his last 13 Tests before he got real. VVS Laxman did still better, scoring seven 50s and one 100 at an average of 39.36 when he was made to feel unwanted. Rahul Dravid was on a song during his home run with four 50s and 100s each and an average of 48.77.

Sunil Gavaskar had called it a day after posting an average (48.94) higher than even Dravid’s in his last 13 Tests. Unlike today, the reserve talent pool in the 1980s was hardly promising and yet the original little master bowed out after scoring six 50s and two 100s in his last 19 innings. The other little master, Gundappa Vishwanath, was axed after scoring five 50s and one 200 in his last 13 Tests to make room for, of all batsmen, Ashok Malhotra.

So those who are asking if Tendulkar should carry on do have a case. Tendulkar’s recent performances in the 50-over game beg the same question. Since his Word Cup ton against at Nagpur last March, he played 14 ODIs to score three 50s and his 100th 100 at an average of 33.78. Ganguly, who outscored Tendulkar during a good part of his ODI career, maintained an average of 33.07, including four 50s, in the last 14 ODI innings. No serious follower of the game argued that the southpaw should have continued playing.

Few icons get to leave the game on a high. Imran Khan quit after lifting the world cup for Pakistan. Gavaskar announced his retirement while dwarfing the other batting greats with an epic ton at the Lords centenary test. Others, like Kapil Dev, hung on till they reach a milestone. Some are dropped after a single bad tour like Vishwanath was on his return from Pakistan. Some, like Laxman, retire hurt. Then there is Dravid who hung up his shoes while leading the batting pack.

Tendulkar earned his big occasions: the World Cup victory at home and his 100th hundred. He has no milestone to chase. It is unlikely that selectors will ever master the courage to call time on him or even make him feel unwanted. And he is certainly no Dravid.

In fact, Tendulkar is perhaps unlike any other cricketer – both on and off the field. He started playing cricket, virtually all day, since he was nine. He left his parents and shifted from Bandra to his uncle’s house adjacent to Shivaji Park where he practised. Even his choice of school, Shardashram Vidyamandir, was only to be under the watch of Ramakant Achrekar.

Lives of most top cricketers revolve around the game. But they also keep open other windows to life, even if as mere curiosities. Dravid is a commerce graduate and a keen reader. His occasional speeches reflect the range of his versatile mind. Anil Kumble is an engineering graduate and a wildlife enthusiast. His otherwise unremarkable photography is distinguished by a learner’s keenness. There is a lot more to Ganguly, a man of enterprise and opinions, than cricket. Laxman, a medical student, became a philosopher wondering what more he could do to cement his place in the team.

But imagine Tendulkar beyond cricket. All we know is that he idolised John McEnroe, is a fan of Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, collects watches, loves perfume and occasionally takes his sports cars out on empty Mumbai roads. But how many times, if ever, have we heard Tendulkar speak on anything outside cricket? Unlike more rounded men such as MAK Pataudi, Gavaskar or Ganguly, he did not even make a good captain despite being one of the best cricketing brains ever.

Since he was 16, Tendulkar batted for his country like nobody else could in their dreams. This long journey has seen too many rare milestones. But hunger for records is too naïve an explanation for his 275-month long international career. His middle-class upbringing must have valued the never-ending monetary rewards. But the assumption that he is sticking around to keep his brand value intact rings unimaginative.

Could it be that Tendulkar continues to play cricket because that is all he has done his entire life? Genius alone does not fuel a three-decade-long pursuit. It has taken him a lot of blood, sweat and determination. This single-mindedness has been Tendulkar’s greatest marvel. It has also been his biggest sacrifice, and limitation.

What do they know of cricket, wondered CLR James in Beyond the Boundary, who only cricket know. Tendulkar’s focussed understanding of the game has certainly belied the Trinidadian’s rhetoric. Only, a few months short of 40, even the most disciplined of bodies is bound to falter, and the most alert of minds blink, every now and then. Tendulkar is too sharp a cricketer to miss those signs. But James would be smiling. What does one do after cricket who only cricket knows?