Line & Length
R Mohan
Never tell a champion what he can't achieve
March 06, 2008
In the tri-series finals Sachin Tendulkar lived up to the impossibly high standards he had set for himself when he blazed a trail from the very start of his career. In his batting masterclass of two delectable innings, the 'bonzer' defied the ravages of time that make increasing demands on his body in long innings as well as sharp criticism of the misplaced kind.
One of the many steadfast quality that remains with him since 1989 is a squeaky voice that sounds like a choir boy just growing into adulthood. Eternally soft spoken, the little master has always maintained a kind of ideal public stance based on a few well-chosen words. For such a man to lash out at his critics meant that some of the cynicism had got through the armour to stab his heart.
A pity that a batsman who grew up with him, shared the dressing room and hotel rooms with him and who may even have been seen as a role model for a young Sachin should have said all those unkind things using such phraseology as 'the elephant in the room no one wants to talk about.' Such a phrase was really way over the top.
A valid criticism could have been built up on the basis of statistics. For years, Sachin had lived under the cloud of coming a cropper in some vital matches, most of all finals, many of them in a stretch in the new millennium when India had a losing streak as long as the Great Wall of China. But to couch it in polite language is an art people lose when a bee gets into their bonnet.
In the two back-to-back innings, Sachin proved that when it comes to measuring up to exacting standards there is none better, whether in piloting a chase, albeit on a day of non-swing in dewdappled SCG, or in setting up a bank of runs as a platform as in muggy Brisbane where the swinging new ball behaved as if it was on steroids.
No riposte could have been more pointedly stated, soft hands working the ball at will in that memorable hunt for a maiden ODI century Down Under, a statistical embellishment that had somehow eluded the bats man on four previous tours plus a World Cup visit. Having corrected the record, the master indulged himself a bit when he played the cheeky reverse sweep with the enthusiasm of a naughty schoolboy defying authority.
Not that inventiveness does not come to such a classy performer who has every stroke in the coaching manual plus a few that may be added in future editions, which have to accept that times have changed. His response to criticism may have prevented him from taking any luxuries by way of stroke making the day he was determined to prove that a chase is not beyond him when he sets his mind to it.
There were a couple of memorable days in Sharjah where Sachin was in so much control of proceedings in big run chases that he even seemed to order an interfering desert storm to go away so that he could resume his dominating ways at the crease. But since 1998, the batsman has allowed the burden of expectations to wreck his approach, sometimes even his technique.
In the face of big targets, irrespective of the threat posed by a new ball swinging at high speed from the hands of fresh bowlers, openers have to force the pace. I would imagine Sachin used to put more pressure on himself to try and provide the blazing starts because he knew he could make the difference. It was his way of putting up his hand in a team cause.
As the team moved on from a paramount dependence, Sachin may have begun to believe he had the licence to go for the frenetic starts since the team had the depth to make up for his possible early dismissal. To take on the new ball is a doubleedged sword. It can fairly fly off the bat on a good day to bring best value for the risks taken, while on other days the ball, more than the bowler, would get you out. Ask Adam Gilchrist and he will vouch for the enigmatic demands.
No team can be in a happier state than when its oldest member is pulling his weight in terms of performance to match the enthusiasm of the young who may be tigers on the field. It took Sachin only two ODIs to scotch simmering criticism about run chases and contribution to crucial games. A stunning lack of ego sees him always speak of the team first even if he is later forced to have a blast or two at critics. The rule is never tell a champion what he can and cannot achieve.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
One of the many steadfast quality that remains with him since 1989 is a squeaky voice that sounds like a choir boy just growing into adulthood. Eternally soft spoken, the little master has always maintained a kind of ideal public stance based on a few well-chosen words. For such a man to lash out at his critics meant that some of the cynicism had got through the armour to stab his heart.
A pity that a batsman who grew up with him, shared the dressing room and hotel rooms with him and who may even have been seen as a role model for a young Sachin should have said all those unkind things using such phraseology as 'the elephant in the room no one wants to talk about.' Such a phrase was really way over the top.
A valid criticism could have been built up on the basis of statistics. For years, Sachin had lived under the cloud of coming a cropper in some vital matches, most of all finals, many of them in a stretch in the new millennium when India had a losing streak as long as the Great Wall of China. But to couch it in polite language is an art people lose when a bee gets into their bonnet.
In the two back-to-back innings, Sachin proved that when it comes to measuring up to exacting standards there is none better, whether in piloting a chase, albeit on a day of non-swing in dewdappled SCG, or in setting up a bank of runs as a platform as in muggy Brisbane where the swinging new ball behaved as if it was on steroids.
No riposte could have been more pointedly stated, soft hands working the ball at will in that memorable hunt for a maiden ODI century Down Under, a statistical embellishment that had somehow eluded the bats man on four previous tours plus a World Cup visit. Having corrected the record, the master indulged himself a bit when he played the cheeky reverse sweep with the enthusiasm of a naughty schoolboy defying authority.
Not that inventiveness does not come to such a classy performer who has every stroke in the coaching manual plus a few that may be added in future editions, which have to accept that times have changed. His response to criticism may have prevented him from taking any luxuries by way of stroke making the day he was determined to prove that a chase is not beyond him when he sets his mind to it.
There were a couple of memorable days in Sharjah where Sachin was in so much control of proceedings in big run chases that he even seemed to order an interfering desert storm to go away so that he could resume his dominating ways at the crease. But since 1998, the batsman has allowed the burden of expectations to wreck his approach, sometimes even his technique.
In the face of big targets, irrespective of the threat posed by a new ball swinging at high speed from the hands of fresh bowlers, openers have to force the pace. I would imagine Sachin used to put more pressure on himself to try and provide the blazing starts because he knew he could make the difference. It was his way of putting up his hand in a team cause.
As the team moved on from a paramount dependence, Sachin may have begun to believe he had the licence to go for the frenetic starts since the team had the depth to make up for his possible early dismissal. To take on the new ball is a doubleedged sword. It can fairly fly off the bat on a good day to bring best value for the risks taken, while on other days the ball, more than the bowler, would get you out. Ask Adam Gilchrist and he will vouch for the enigmatic demands.
No team can be in a happier state than when its oldest member is pulling his weight in terms of performance to match the enthusiasm of the young who may be tigers on the field. It took Sachin only two ODIs to scotch simmering criticism about run chases and contribution to crucial games. A stunning lack of ego sees him always speak of the team first even if he is later forced to have a blast or two at critics. The rule is never tell a champion what he can and cannot achieve.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
