Sachin: Down, but not out

Flawed, not Failed Genius

By Murli

The fans' appetite is not satiated with a humdrum hundred. Sachin is expected to turn the clock back, to play like he used to a decade ago, and win matches. Clearly, when it comes to Sachin Tendulkar, "good enough isn't".

It's tough being Sachin Tendulkar. You are damned if you score and damned if you don't. After the world cup flop, public opinion felled him like a ton of bricks. When he stormed back to form in the following series against Bangladesh scoring two hundreds, critics said it came against a weak team, and also took potshots at him for his "slow batting".

Sachin was scoring at around 3 runs per over, which is quite healthy for Test cricket. But there were only a handful of boundaries, his critics fumed. True, there were only six boundaries and a six in his century in the second test. It's also true he was overshadowed by the bang bang batting of the swashbuckling Dhoni, and the unusually positive batting of Dravid. Be that as it may, the twin tons did reveal his fierce determination. Alas, determination by itself is not a virtue when it concerns Sachin.

The fans' appetite is not satiated with a humdrum hundred. Sachin is expected to turn the clock back, to play like he used to a decade ago, and needless to add, win matches. Clearly, when it comes to Sachin Tendulkar, "good enough isn't".

It has been that way ever since he betrayed his mortal self as a cricketer. Till he was Superman, everything was hunky dory. The trouble started when he gave us a wake up call that he can't be sleep-walking through the 22-yard pitch and scoring runs by the bucketfuls, he can't score a hundred 24/7/365. When the runs reduced to a steady trickle, as against a torrent previously, Sachin seemed to dampen our spirits. Soon, his failures became more frequent, and more bigger in our eyes. Till, we decided that he should hang up his boots. Or should get the boot.

Typical of him, Sachin chose to answer his critics by letting his bat do the talking. His centuries in Bangladesh were not a bomb. If this is a crime, he is guilty as charged.

Strange as it may seem, the public's love-hate affair with Tendulkar continues. Hours after India's disastrous rout at the world cup in the Caribbean, TV channels went berserk questioning Sachin's form, talent, commitment, fitness, approach, attitude. Everything about him came under the scanner. Ironically, it was déjà vu all over again: Hours after Sachin scored his record 36th century, the TV channels were back with a vengeance, hailing his form, talent, commitment, fitness, approach, attitude. Aaj Tak was the first to get off the block, carrying a half an hour programme called Naya Daur on Sachin, a few hours after the close of play on the day he scored the hundred.

It happens only in India. It happens only to Sachin. When the Pontings and Laras fail, there are no calls to behead them, there is no public hanging. No one bays for their blood. No one questions their talent or commitment. No one points at their "tired legs". What we do hear is, the familiar refrain of form being temporary and class permanent. That it happens to all the cricketers at some time in their career. That overcoming this challenge is what separates the men from the boys.