Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Sachin Tendulkar -- A leader in hiding
With all the clouds hovering over Indian cricket, the most senior player is in hiding -- at least figuratively. Some might say he is above and beyond all the pettiness that's happening in Indian cricket. My take is, the man cannot be bothered with all the mundane things like taking charge, step-up and insist there are alternatives. There are things to do in the meantime. Score the 35th century, go past Waugh and Border in total runs, and if the elbow permitting put that mark beyond the rest for some time. There are contracts to be signed, sugar water and mobile phones to sell, and if there's some time left, take the tax-free(or tax paid by the somebody else) Ferrari for a spin on the roads of Mumbai. With such a busy schedule, it was kind of him to make some time and comment, "dressing room stuff should stay in there." It's easy to forget, how he got the things that are mentioned above and what his responsibility is to Indian cricket or the fan that blindly follows this mediocre team.
Sachin Tendulkar has been hailed as a modern incarnation of the great Bradman; but rarely did he appear to possess any leader ship qualities of the Don. The darkest days of Indian cricket --the matchfixing imbroglio, he just pretended he was unaware that such a thing existed. His complicity was never in question, but his feigned ignorance is questionable. He was right there, playing his most productive days and the fact that he did not come up with what he knew should show his real self. That was the time to be a bold leader, with a young team, to rebuild it as unit and take it into a new direction. Unfortunately he was never equipped for it.
Ganguly, although his time has long passed, should be given the credit he deserves for doing the exact things that Tendulkar was unwilling to do. He put his career on line, saw his averages slipping, but single minded focus on rebuilding the team, making it the unit that is today. Had he, with the kind of team at this disposal at that time, been interested in only himself, he probably would have been a better batsman today. Not Tendulkar. There was occassional comment from junior players about the stature of the man, but he was happy to be relegated to the boundary post in the Ganguly-Dravid axis. For somebody that played the game at the highest level for sixteen years, he ignores responsibility, just like he ignored the off-side at Sydney to score a double hundred -- that didn't prove anything.
Sachin Tendulkar has been hailed as a modern incarnation of the great Bradman; but rarely did he appear to possess any leader ship qualities of the Don. The darkest days of Indian cricket --the matchfixing imbroglio, he just pretended he was unaware that such a thing existed. His complicity was never in question, but his feigned ignorance is questionable. He was right there, playing his most productive days and the fact that he did not come up with what he knew should show his real self. That was the time to be a bold leader, with a young team, to rebuild it as unit and take it into a new direction. Unfortunately he was never equipped for it.
Ganguly, although his time has long passed, should be given the credit he deserves for doing the exact things that Tendulkar was unwilling to do. He put his career on line, saw his averages slipping, but single minded focus on rebuilding the team, making it the unit that is today. Had he, with the kind of team at this disposal at that time, been interested in only himself, he probably would have been a better batsman today. Not Tendulkar. There was occassional comment from junior players about the stature of the man, but he was happy to be relegated to the boundary post in the Ganguly-Dravid axis. For somebody that played the game at the highest level for sixteen years, he ignores responsibility, just like he ignored the off-side at Sydney to score a double hundred -- that didn't prove anything.
