What Tendulkar Has Meant To Indian Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar turned 50 on April 24, a landmark event in everyone’s life. However, in Sachin Tendulkar’s case, the celebrations will no doubt continue for days.

On the field he has crossed all sorts of landmarks and has set several records that even with the proliferation of the various formats will stand the test of time. In terms of runs, centuries and matches played he is so far ahead of any of the contemporary greats that it is Mission Impossible for them to even come anywhere near his achievements.

Tendulkar is the most celebrated cricketer of all time, easily the most worshipped and arguably the biggest cricketing icon the game has ever known. He has earned accolades aplenty from all over the world through his remarkable feats on the field but more important is the question is what he has meant to Indian cricket.

In earning respect for Indian cricket internationally he is not a pioneer. Sunil Gavaskar was the first to ensure that there was greater respect for Indian cricket in the international arena thanks to his breakthrough achievements. From the pioneering days of the 30a to the end of the 60s Indian cricket generally went from one setback to another suffering ignominious defeats and performing abysmally especially abroad.

Gavaskar changed the scenario and there was a marked improvement in Indian cricket’s fortunes from the 70s through the 80s. Gavaskar retired in 1987, and Tendulkar played his first international game two years later. With him as the central figure in Indian cricket for nearly a quarter of a century Indian cricket was not only in safe hands to carry on Gavaskar’s legacy but the respect surged and touched new heights.

Experts from all over the world acknowledged that Tendulkar was a master batsman arguably the best in the world guiding India’s fortunes both at home and abroad. In both Tests and ODIs India were opponents to be respected and even feared thanks principally to the presence of Tendulkar.

It was not that India’s batting was weak or over dependent on him during his long and illustrious career. Indeed it was for several years the most lustrous batting line-up in the game. The presence of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman besides Tendulkar constituted a major problem for bowlers and captains alike.

Even earlier during his first few years in the game Tendulkar had for company Navjot Sidhu, Md Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar and Vinod Kambli. The Indian batting was on firm ground throughout his career but somehow even with all the others around it was the wicket of Tendulkar that mattered most to bowlers and caused the most heartbreak for the crowd.

When he got out the groans of the spectators could be heard over some distance even if the others were still around or yet to come. It was as if the match was over and India was doomed to defeat – or so the spectators thought. Many of course would leave the stands once he left the crease.

What Tendulkar has done or meant to Indian cricket is immeasurable. Much the same thing can be said about Gavaskar who himself has been fulsome in praise of Tendulkar’s sublime batting skills and manifold achievements. As he himself famously said once ``I used to get my runs in singles, this young man is getting them through boundaries.’’ That in a nutshell summed up the approach of the two all-time greats.

But given the expectations of the millions of Indian cricket fans the world over the pressure on Tendulkar was much more. The manner in which he handled this pressure brought out the mental toughness of the man.

It was not all smooth sailing of course. It can never be when it is such a long journey and the subject is the most talked about cricketer in the world. Criticism abounded, much of it unfair.

It is a tribute to Tendulkar’s equanimity that he was always able to rise above any controversy and continued to have a squeaky clean image. This is something, considered almost impossible given the often abrasive manner the game has been played during his time with player misbehaviour touching an all-time low.

With all his skills at the crease – Tendulkar’s batting was based on the purest principles of perfect balance, economy of movement and precision in shot making and he could play all the strokes proficiently – it is this legacy of his that will, like his many records, stand the test of time.