I read an article a few days back in Business Line about Sachin Tendulkar. It was one of the very few articles I have seen questioning Tendulkar’s place in the team, considering his current form. I have always had a few misgivings about Sachin Tendulkar. Many other people have complaints too – he was never a Test match winner, he was inflexible about his batting spot, etc. But few cricketers have given me the pleasure I have derived from watching Tendulkar. For someone who enjoyed a good contest more than anything else, Tendulkar’s batting would be one of the happier moments in the most one-sided and dull games.
Tendulkar entered the sport at a very young age. He was no more than a boy, standing up to the likes Walsh, Ambrose, McDermott, Imran, Akram et al. That was an image a country like India could get used to, a natty David-Goliath moment. Aside from his batting, he was a gentleman on and off the field, he was never involved in sledging or responding to it, he was squeaky clean. He was a complete sportsman. For the Indian cricket fan, he was a player unlike anyone they had seen before. For a nation starved of role models, he was someone who could inspire, just with his bat. He symbolized aspiration and success for a whole new generation of Indians.
There were a few other things which went in Tendulkar’s favor. India was a nation that did not have role models. India’s political landscape was never breeding ground for leaders who could inspire a young country. Academics and scientists were irrelevant. There was no one else in the country’s sporting horizon who could play the role. At least, there were none in cricket, the only sport that had a following. Gavaskar was done. Kapil’s career was coming to an end. The game was changing. The country’s cricketing team was devoid of stars, till Tendulkar arrived on the scene.
Coincidentally, India’s economy opened up. People were becoming richer. Media blossomed. Television ownership and the number of satellite television channels increased. Brands aspiring to come into India and anyone selling anything worth buying wanted a brand ambassador who could sell across the nation. Cinema was divisive. People from two states never cared for the same stars. Apart from cinema, there was only one thing Indians cared about. Cricket. The Mark Mascarenhas WorldTel coup is now history. There was a time when you couldn’t escape Tendulkar. He was constantly on TV – it was either a match, or a cricket program or an advertisement. It is hard to watch TV even now without a little bit of Tendulkar in it. It is probable that Tendulkar is the most recognized Indian. The most important reasons for the man’s popularity, however, are different – critics and the attitude of the average Indian fan.
Critics and wannabes took upon themselves the task of building Tendulkar’s reputation. Critics dream of being the one to ‘introduce’ the next star. Tendulkar was obviously one in the making. What they ended up doing was blowing his achievements out of proportion. Tendulkar got the kind of articles written about him that Pete Sampras could not have gotten at the end of his career. Not many were concerned that Tendulkar’s predominantly individual achievements did not reflect on the team’s results. Most got carried away by the grace of Tendulkar’s batsmanship and their own abilities with the written word. No wonder Tendulkar’s achievements have been compared to stuff as unrelated as Michelangelo’s work in the Vatican by intrepid sycophants. Critics failed to observe the fine distinction between putting things in perspective and glorifying them.
The average Indian cricket fan is a fickle animal. Being a Tendulkar fan credited the fan with a discernment that he did not possess. Many of them were enthralled by the exciting batsmanship of Tendulkar. It was easy being a fan. The relationship fans had with Tendulkar transcended respect and became reverence. It lost meaning and credibility.
There were two consequences to this. One, Tendulkar became so much of a phenomenon that the fan forgot what was most important – the game. Tendulkar, in the eyes of the fan, became bigger than the game. He was elevated to a super-normal, God-like stature. Two, a new set of stars and match-winners emerged in Tendulkar’s shadows. Players like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh found the space to perform and grow. With Tendulkar soaking up the pressure, these players came into their own. It did not take long for these players to cement their place in the team, riding on exceptional performances and winning matches for India. India started winning more matches than they ever had, even Test matches. But the collateral damage of the Tendulkar aura was that none of these players got their due. Athletes thrive on adulation. They play for the applause at the end of a remarkable innings or spell. Unfortunately for these players, the loudest applause and the maximum coverage was always reserved for Tendulkar. We do not know how this affected the rest of the players in the team, what difference it made. We never will.
Despite all the commotion and adulation that flows around him, Tendulkar himself is unmoved. Over the years, his conduct has remained exemplary and his game as exciting as ever. While he deserves respect and admiration for his achievements in sport, Tendulkar also deserves a better class of fan. A class that is as devoted to the game as he is, that applauds good cricket as much as he does; a more discriminating set of critics talking and writing about him. We can only hope that he finds them.
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