Should Sachin be Dropped?. Review on Sachin Tendulkar

'Should Sachin be dropped?' Shocked, surprised, Disgusted!!! I would run out of adjectives to describe my reaction when I read these headlines on a popular news site. On the other side, we have headlines like “Being There, Why Dravid is India's most important player”. Weren't they the same guys who once praised Sachin to the hilt and castigated Rahul for his cautious approach to the game? Though the later article had elements of truth in it, the former simply exposed the fickleness of our so called professional media.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has been a phenomenon in the present generation of cricketers and truly represents cricket in its true spirit. While you may opt for Dravid or Steve Waugh to play for your life, when it comes to watching sheer action, as Vivian Richards once quipped,' I would pay to see Sachin play'. Looking at statistics for 2003, Sachin has had the worst run in his test playing career. But even on this day when he struggles to make that odd forty or even give Agarkar stiff competition when it comes to scoring ducks, you have people making specific game plans for him. His failures are as much talked about as his exploits on the field. Wisden reports that no book maker would commit unless Sachin was out. This is a measure of respect that this little master from Mumbai commands among the past and present generation alike.

Some are born great , some achieve greatness though perseverance and hardwork. Sachin belongs to the second category. While he is down, it is no secret about the amount of time he spends in the nets to get back in business. He is at such a stage in his career that if he retires today, he would still be among the all time best. But his hunger knows no bounds. Never losing an opportunity to contribute on the field with his limited bowling resources or throwing himself on the field, he is a team man to the core. He is known to be a humble person and it is his humility which people mistake for arrogance. The Ferrari incident was blown out of proportions, while there was nothing illegal in what he did.

To understand what the little master is all about, it would be interesting to say what the bowlers say about him. Shane Warne once commented that he still had nightmares of Sachin charging and hitting him for sixes above his head. Kasproviz advised his fellow bowlers not to bowl any bad deliveries to the master. 'He hits the good ones for fours'. The lesser said about Shoaib Akhtar, the better. In a recent interview, Shoaib has openly announced that Sachin was the best batsman he has bowled to. This comes from a person who doesn't gain any points when it comes to arrogance and inflated egos. Every bowler in the world holds Sachin in awe because most of their poor figures are a result of Sachin's exploits with the bat. He has almost practically taken every bowling attack apart, the names that come to my mind instantly being that of Allan Donald, Shane Warne, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar. Well, I could go on but you get the picture.

It is mighty hard to state his achievements in just a few words. He is the leading scorer in one day internationals by far. He has the most number of international centuries. In test matches he is almost certain to end up as the highest centurion and most probably the highest scorer when he retires. He has been the leading scorer in two world cups and the man of the tournament in the most recent one. His test average is more than 55, in spite of the fact that he is having the worst slump of his career averaging just above 15 in the current year. He was ranked among the top ten test batsmen in the list of rankings by Price Waterhouse Coopers for a decade and this is the first time he has slipped from the top, but not for long, I reckon. Steve Waugh recently commented that Sachin was like a sleeping volcano waiting to explode and he wished that he (sachin) could wait for two more matches. Well, going by the most recent news, he did wait for one match (Melbourne) but I am sure he won't feel the need to please the departing Waugh anymore.

Sport is cruel at times and even the best are not spared. Every batsman has had a lean period when they struggle for runs. It is only a matter of time that they return to their usual ways. As far as Sachin is concerned, he is not out of form. He is just maybe a little out of focus. And it sure won't last long. And when he comes back, he will have the whole of the cricketing world at his feet, just like it used to be. And if you see, headlines like 'Should Sachin be dropped?', just smile and feel sorry for the person who wrote it.

Batting statistics for Sachin Tendulkar:

Tests

Right Handed Batsman

Matches : 110 [178 innings]

Runs : 8964 [Average 55.33]

Highest : 217

200s : 2

100s : 31

50s : 36

1000 runs in a calender year : 1997(1000), 1999(1088),2001(1003),2002(1392)

Man of the match : 9 times

One Dayers:

Matches : 321 [312 innings]

Runs : 12685 [Average : 45.14]

Highest : 186 n.o

100s : 36

50s : 64

S/R : 86.63

1000 Runs in a calender year : 1994 (1089), 1996 (1611), 1997 (1011), 1998 (1894), 2000 (1328), 2003 (1141)

Man of the match : 48 times

World Cups:

Matches : 33 [32 innings]

Runs: 1732 [Average : 59.72]

Highest : 152

100s : 4

50s : 12

S/R : 87.56

Man of the match : 8 times

(Statistics Source : Cricinfo.com)