Sachin Tendulkar and his future

Sachin Tendulkar‘s retirement is the hot topic in India at the moment. It’s because of the downfall in his form in the last couple of years! Tendulkar, over these 23 years, has carried the nation to great heights. Experts say that he has carried the team single-handedly during the 90′s, which is very true!

23 years ago, a small kid who didn’t even finish his school was taken to Pakistan to face the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan, and he scored a half century. Then he toured England to face the bowlers who hit the deck hard at their own backyard, and he scored his first international hundred, from where the platinum era began.

Thunder Down Under

The Indian team toured Australia in 1992. This was the series which took this kid to greater heights. He was to face the likes of McDermott, Hughes and Reiffell. Yes, these names aren’t that popular, but we all know how dangerous Australian bowlers are in their own backyard. He scored a century on his favorite hunting ground, the SCG (he has scored a century in SCG every time he has toured Australia). At Perth, the scores of the Indian batsmen read as follows: Srikanth 34, N. Sidhu 5, Manjrekar 31, Vengsarkar 1 and Azar 11. Only one batsman stood out and scored a century and that batsman was Sachin Tendulkar.

And from there, he scored centuries in South Africa and Sri Lanka and continued his dominance all over the world. In the 90′s period, Sachin Tendulkar’s score would often be the deciding factor of India’s result.

2003 World Cup

It was the World Cup that no Indian will ever forget. During the very late 90′s, the Indian team went through a disastrous phase after the exit of Azharuddin from the team. Azar was replaced by Sourav Ganguly as the captain, who changed the face of the team. Team India went into the 2003 World Cup with some positive signs after the famous Natwest series win in England. Sachin Tendulkar clearly took the team into finals with the help of Sourav and others who contributed occasionally. Sachin made 673 runs and also bagged the man of the series award. But India went through a disastrous defeat in the final at the hands of Australia and Ricky Ponting.

Tennis Elbow

The period of 2005-2007 was the toughest in Sachin’s career. Sachin suffered severely from tennis elbow. On 19 March 2006, after scoring an unconvincing 1 off 21 balls against England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground Wankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd. It was the first time that he had ever faced such flak. Tendulkar was to end the three Test series without a single half-century to his credit, and news of a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity. In July 2006, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Tendulkar had overcome his injury problems following an operation and rehabilitation program, and was available for selection; he was eventually selected for the next series.

Forgettable 2007 World Cup

The Indian team went through some tough times along with Sachin. Some say it was because of Greg Chappell’s tactics. During the preparation for the 2007 World Cup, Tendulkar was criticised by Greg Chappell about his attitude. Chappell felt that Tendulkar would be more useful down the order, while the latter felt that he would be better off opening the innings. Chappell also believed that Tendulkar’s repeated failures were hurting the team’s chances. In a rare show of emotion, Tendulkar hit out at the comments attributed to Chappell by pointing out that no coach has ever suggested his attitude towards cricket was incorrect. On 7 April 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India issued a notice to Tendulkar asking for an explanation for his comments made to the media.

At the World Cup in the West Indies, Tendulkar and the Indian cricket team, led by Rahul Dravid, had a dismal campaign. Tendulkar, who was pushed to bat lower down the order, had scores of 7 (Bangladesh), 57 not out (Bermuda) and 0 (Sri Lanka). As a result, former Australian captain Ian Chappell, brother of the then Indian coach Greg, called for Tendulkar to retire in his column for Mumbai’s newspaper.

Comeback King

After the exit of Greg Chappell, the team toured England without a coach and Sachin was at his magical touch as before. 2008-2011 was one of the golden periods in Sachin’s career.

2011 World Cup

Sachin Tendulkar’s 22-year-long dream and Team India’s 28-year wait came to an end as the MS Dhoni led Team India to World Cup glory after 28 years. Clearly, Sachin and Yuvraj were the major contributors in India’s win, with Sachin scoring 482 runs at an average of 53.55 with two centuries and Yuvi winning the Man of the Series award.

Century of centuries

It took more than 365 days for Sachin to score his 100th century. Well, one can say Sachin missed his magical touch because of the immense pressure over him on getting his 100th century. The magical 100 din’t happen at Lords or the Oval or MSG or SCG. It happened in a small town, Dhaka.

Toughest time in Sachin’s career

After the 100th century, Sachin lost his form, with billions praying for a comeback whenever he takes guard. But Sachin continues to disappoint billions. He is 39 and not much cricket is left in him. The end of a golden era is near.

It is really sad to see the career of one of the greatest cricketers that India and the world have seen coming to such a messy end. This is far from necessary. What we need is a way of dealing with the situation that is fair to Sachin’s enormous contribution to Indian cricket and to the immediate needs of the team. A player of his stature should finish his career on a high note.

As the billions wish, he will be back with a bang.