There was a time when the heartbeat of the nation stopped each time Sachin Tendulkar got dismissed. But I suppose the magic of this classy batsman has worn out a bit. As he crawls on to the world record of the most runs in Test Cricket held by Brian Charles Lara of the West Indies the media’s hype has lost steam with Sachin getting out cheaply on the last few occasions. Many people are now even questioning his very presence in the team. They think that like Saurav he too should part ways so that young blood may be infused in the team. But these so called critics never recognise the amount of glory the Master Blaster has brought for the country. Every player has his good and bad patches in terms of records. Yes I agree that may be a batsman of his calibre shouldn’t take so much time to break the record. Today he is just 15 runs short of the much elusive record. But that does not mean he should leave the team because some people think he isn’t good enough anymore.
Sachin is more than just a batsman in the team. He is one of the key driving forces and even if he fails to perform with the bat he is a source of inspiration to the youngsters of the team. Many of the players in the team today grew up watching Tendulkar play. They idolised him and tried to copy his style as well as temperament. How many times have we compared the young and dashing Sehwag with Sachin? Is it mere coincidence that his style is quite similar to the Little Master. I don’t think so. Sehwag being much younger to Sachin agrees that he always had a knack to copy and play like Sachin did in his younger days.
In such a scenario when a player like Sehwag had taken Sachin to be his idol and learnt much from him it is all the more important that younger players get a chance to brush of the magic that the Little Master produces. People have a lot to learn from the humble legend. Whoever has held the reins of the team be it Ganguly, Dravid, Dhoni or Kumble they have always consulted Sachin in nail biting situations. He is a major part of the think tank of the team and brings a huge load of experience.
It might be that the format of the game has changed quite a bit. But a batsman of his calibre can adapt to most situations and as far as retirement goes I think speculators should count that out until the next World Cup at least. There is a lot more he has to offer to the country even now and it is not right limiting his performance to mere textbook records. A legend like him should not walk out of the ground in such a tame manner. There is still much time before he hung up his boots and I would love it if he did it in his signature style. And I am sure people all over the country would love to watch him play his natural no holds barred game yet again. It will always be a delight to watch him play.
Till then we should stand by him and not discourage him like people in our country tend to do. There is still a lot of firepower left and it is a matter of time before the guns start firing again.
