Sachin Tendulkar and the farewell that wasn't

Harsha Bhogle - The stage is set and how! It’s an ODI farewell for the local boy here at Wankhede Stadium. Sachin and Sourav, the most celebrated Indian opening pair, will start the proceedings for India’s chase of 300 runs in 50 overs. And it only gets more exciting when the likes of Shoaib, Wasim and Waqar are in the opposition! Let’s get back to the commentary box with Tony Greig and Sunil Gavaskar.

Fast Forward – Sourav and Sachin yet again give us a solid start; Sourav is out for 75 and Sachin still batting on 130, while India have scored 275/6 in 47 overs.

And the death overs get more nail-biting with Tony Greig on the mic.

Tony Greig – Well, this little man is the nearest thing to Bradman there has ever been! (Sachin smashes Shoaib for a six) Oh, he has hit this one miles…Great Shot…oh, it’s a biggie..this little man has hit the big fellow for six..he is half his size…ohh..whhaat a player…!

Fast Forward – India wins with 2 balls to spare, and now it’s time for the victory/farewell/goodbye lap!

Sunil Gavaskar – The man who shouldered India’s expectations for years is now on a final victory lap on the shoulders of his team mates who love and respect him like we all do!

Yes, this is my version of “A Farewell that wasn’t”. In reality, what transpired was a press release, a family trip, Breaking News, “RIP ODI…” kind of Facebook status updates, speculations regarding BCCI’s role in it, more breaking news and a rather emotional thank-you note to all the fans.

I agree that some of the things mentioned in this version are factually not possible. Some of the greats of the game have retired, while one of the finest men on the mic has passed away. But this is what makes fantasy versions special! Your favorites remain, helping you to make special moments even more so.

Contemplating over this rather forgettable episode (“forgettable” because it indeed deserved a fitting farewell), the following are some of the conclusions which crossed the idle mind of an MBA student in his final trimester!

• What fast-forwarded his Decision?: This one appears to be a no-brainer; every cricket pundit (basically every one of us) would state that his declining performance, being out-of-form for quite some time and India Team’s poor run led to the undesired. But just read along with me, and decide for yourselves if you agree with what unravels at the end of this piece. And for now, yes these were definitely some of the important reasons, and also the way India kept losing, the overall team attitude also became a point of contention.

• Coach-Captain Combo matters: About the team’s attitude and spirit, let’s just go back to past successful teams – Sourav and John Wright and Dhoni and Gary Kirsten. These recent examples tell us that a solid coach-captain combo can be the ground rule for a desired team spirit and attitude in the dressing room. We did hear about Kirsten spending more time on field than players themselves, throwing balls (with his baseball glove) indefinitely at the batters in the nets. Also how John Wright gave complete freedom to Sourav which Chappell failed to replicate. So if we had a better coach, and India had been losing with close margins, yet showing some great team spirit with no internal disputes, could that have led to a desired farewell?

• Could he have done it the Sourav Way?: I agree that his form was not good, the team was not doing well, the age factor apparently was not in his favor. It happens, it has happened in the past with Sourav, Zaheer and the like. So was it possible to go back to the domestic circuit, get some form back, make it work in Tests and then come back in ODIs? At a personal level, going back to domestic cricket is definitely tough as now it is not at all competitive for a player like him, compared to international cricket. But he was indeed part of the Mumbai side that won the Ranji Trophy recently. So was it that the BCCI wanted to avoid  the wrath of Indian fans by dropping Sachin from the ODI squad? Infusing new blood and getting back on winning track was for sure the priority. But we didn’t have a transition plan; it seems we never do! So what happened was in the best interest of all (including avoiding the possible outrage), and thus the inevitable happened and then came the press release! Well this demands that we  look inwards and ask a pertinent question – “Are we a Sporting Nation?”

We all know what happens to a sportsperson (more specifically a male cricketer) during his/her career. Performs well, becomes a hero overnight, loses touch for a while and then becomes a culprit. Here a sportsperson is at the receiving end of ‘Breaking News Syndrome’ and if we notice closely, Sachin here also holds the record for withstanding this roller-coaster of expectations longer than any other Indian sportsperson so far!

We are a cricketing nation (not a sporting nation), it is a religion for us, and we are emotional about it! All that is cool, it’s good that we are proud of it. But just think from a sportsperson’s point of view (who is definitely not a robotic creation) and let’s try and spare them the disgrace. It may work well to elongate a certain sportsperson’s career. Let’s be a sport, and treat winning and losing on their merit.

I will leave you with a very relevant example given by Ajay Jadeja while speaking on a similar topic. “Just go and stand on a cricket ground when temperature is around 40 degrees. Just stand, do nothing, you will still get cramps”. So let’s not create too much hysteria when someone is going down, allow that soul to have a chance to get up again. This holds true for you, me, and all of us! And just to cross check, did you not make that “RIP ODI…” status update but were still glued to TV when India won against England? Well, most of us did, so let’s just try and be more sporting; because the show will go on, you know it…I know it…we all know it!