Sports-Sachin Tendulkar

Did I forget about Dhyan Chand, Sunil Gavaskar, P.T. Usha et al or am I too biased. The answer is No! Sachin Tendulkar is the biggest sporting icon India has ever produced. For me, he is the Michael Jordan, Michael Schumacher of Cricket for whom you see the sport many times. Millions of Indians want to see him score a century every time he bats. The roar at the stadium when he steps in to the ground speaks for itself. If Michael Jordan played exceedingly well at both Carolina and later at Chicago, this guy scored well for Mumbai, Yorkshire, and for India. He has amassed 42 ODI centuries and 39 Test centuries for which he should be thanked by the Indians. He should be thanked by the people for everything he has done not only for India but for the sport in general. Last season, when Carolina went through the final four, the Tarheels went crazy over Tyler Hansbrough; but when they lost to Kansas in the semis, I found all the fans to be so nice to the team. Everywhere banners were placed thanking the team who put up such a wonderful performance. But in India, I find people criticizing Tendulkar saying he never plays when India needs him. This is a senseless argument to say the least because India has won 30 times in ODI when Tendulkar has scored a century and once there was no result. People don’t have the right to choose when India needs Tendulkar. We need him always, let’s make that clear. You can find a detailed explanation of the 11 times India lost when Tendulkar scored a century at http://www.niharsworld.com/2007/12/17/sachin-tendulkars-41-30-hundreds-are-for-winning-cause/
Another famous allegation is that he plays himself and not for the team. This comes up from the observation that often he slows down when he is in the 90s. But he has full right to do that. He scored 90 runs on his own. No other guy helped him. He knows how to accelerate after 100. So, don’t teach him how to bat at this stage! 2 stunning examples in favor of my argument would be:
· His innings at the deadly WACA in Perth in which he scored 119 which is still considered to be one of the best ever innings to have been played in Australia.
· His resilience after blood was gushing from his nose and scoring 57 on his debut Test which helped India draw the match against a wonderful Pakistani fast bowling attack comprising Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram etc.
I don’t find anything wrong now in Government waiving the import duty on his Ferrari Car. It is a very small token for such a big sporting genius. Go watch this video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-7jL7o8kYs