Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Sachin Tendulkar named UN Goodwill Ambassador

UNITED NATIONS: India's cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar has been named a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Tendulkar, the first player to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals, will use his massive global popularity to raise awareness and harness support for environmental action in his home country of India and around the world, the UNEP announced on Friday.

"I have played and enjoyed my cricket across the planet. Now it's also time to do something for the planet, which is our only home," he said.

"Being part of the effort to save the planet is an immense undertaking but it is a challenge I am ready to undertake. Working with UNEP and cricket fans across the globe, I am in good company. Together we can do it."

The agency's Executive Director, Achim Steiner, voiced confidence that Tendulkar's "character, personal integrity, intellect and profile will catalyze widespread environmental action."

With 2010 being the UN's International Year of Biodiversity, the cricket legend will work with the agency to boost the global and grassroots response to the loss of animal and plant diversity worldwide.

Tendulkar is no stranger to the work of the UN, having lent his voice to a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) campaign in India on the importance of personal hygiene.

As one of his first duties as Goodwill Ambassador, he will lead a Green Pledge to save the planet when the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks off its third season tomorrow night in Mumbai.

The vow to be made in front of the millions of fans expected to be watching live on television, YouTube or at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai reads "the Earth is our home and together we must conserve our precious wildlife, forests and oceans. I am proud to pledge that I will play my part in caring for our natural heritage."

Along with Tendulkar, team captains from the Deccan Chargers to the Kolkata Knight Riders will sign a giant globe made out of recycled materials.

Noting that as a rapidly developing economy, India's consumption and production patterns could define the planet's future, Steiner said: "We need to make the right choices in terms of how best to manage energy and natural resources."

"To borrow a cricketing metaphor, these choices will define whether the world is running or soon will be run out."

Sachin Said It

Memorable Day Beating Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup
Worst Day Losing the first ODI in RSA in 1992.
Heroes Gavaskar, Viv Richards, Imran Khan, Sandeep Patil
Greatest Influence My family
Current Players Admired Vinod Kambli, Brian Lara, Jonty Rhodes.
Ambition To be number one in the world.
Favourite Ground Sydney Cricket Ground.
Least Favourite Ground Bangalore.
Biggest Complaint None.
Changes to Improve None. I enjoy the game!
Funniest Moment Batting with Vinod Kambli in a school game. Vinod dropped his bat and started to fly a kite.
Other Sports Followed Tennis in particular
Hobbies Collect CD's.
Other Stars Maradona, Boris Becker.
Favourite Actors Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Nana Patekar.
TV Show None in particular.
Film Coming To America.
Spare Time Listening to peaceful music, with friends
Embarrassing moment People asking for my autograph and then asking me my name!
Music Pop.
Hates Rumours
Car Maruti
Food Steak.
Drink Orange/Apple Juice and Water.
Favourite Restaurant Bukhara, Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi
Holiday Resort Yorkshire, Headingley.
Hotel Park Royal Darling Harbour, Sydney.
Clothes official - jacket and tie; else jeans and t-shirt.
Wildest dream Listen to loud music and watch movies. And then in the evening, go for a very long drive.
Newspapers Times of India, Mid-day, Afternoon Dispatch.
Authors Haven't started reading books yet.
Magazines Sportstar
Career Too early to decide - Cricket for the moment
Motto Be true to yourself.

At 33, a fighting Tendulkar is still surprising us

Tendulkar's true gifts lie in his mind, but it is his body which is the instrument of his genius, writes Rohit Brijnath



Six months before Kuala Lumpur, before he advertised he could run 50 overs even at 33, before an innings against the West Indies that was like some national reassurance, before a century impressive for its unhesitancy, for a moment, even he was visited by doubt.

In late March, as surgeons poked around his shoulder in search of a cyst, mid-procedure, as he lay there semi-awake, they told Sachin Tendulkar that his bicep tendon, well, that had ruptured, too.

Toe. Finger. Back. Elbow. Shoulder. Now bicep. Sachin Tendulkar's true gifts lie in his mind, but it is his body which is the instrument of his genius. And it was failing him. Still, stoic, he told the doctors, "do what you have to do''.

Later, the pain was so pure, so cruel after even the slightest movement, that he thought "what is happening, it was like someone still cutting through your arm''. It was the only time when, understandably, he admits, "you always wonder if it's going to get better''.

Testing time


For much of his career Tendulkar has batted with such assurance that he spins the illusion he is unfamiliar with struggle. But he knows struggle. Well. He knows it because pressure arrives every morning, and just because he manages it with serenity hardly means he doesn't feel it.

He knows struggle because his form has dipped in recent times and the criticism hasn't always been pretty, but he keeps working; he knows struggle because he's missed 77 one-day matches because of various ailments since 1998-99, and as the years accumulate on his joints every comeback must be more testing.

Rehabilitation is slow, steady; great athletes are anything but. They are conditioned to push. Tell them recovery takes six months, and they think four. Sometimes it works, sometimes it makes for moments so deflating they'd rather be erased from the memory.

Tendulkar's moment, the worst one, came he says ''when I was trying hard to go to the West Indies. I was told by the doctors it was tough to make it. At one stage, I was the only one who said I was going there. Others said after this sort of surgery (shoulder and bicep) there was no way to recover in four months.''

''(But) I was pushing myself. And there was a setback. I felt a twitch in my bicep, it started hanging like a hammock. I got scared." So there he was, Tendulkar, mind flown to the Windies, but body on the couch in front of the TV in India.

Did he weep? "No," he laughs. "But I felt bad, I felt frustrated, I felt extremely low." He also felt desperately driven to come back. So he struggled on, leaning on wife Anjali, saying, "I spoke a lot to her, she's a huge supporting factor. She has a balanced mind, (offering both) a wife's opinion and a doctor's opinion."

But through this battle, gradually restoring his shoulder, muscle after muscle, stroke at a time, one thing he didn't doubt. His form.

Surely he was anxious; surely after another injury, another year older, he frets. But no, if Tendulkar didn't believe in himself, he couldn't play. "I wasn't worried," he says, "I don't need to convince myself. I know it (that I could reclaim my form).''

Addiction to attention


Were we surprised that he scored a century in his first full match back? Should we have been surprised? He says he wasn't, insisting he had laboured long to be ready, but maybe it's more than that. Champions, like him, seem to suffer from what might be light-heartedly termed an addiction to attention, finding the limelight irresistible, constant stealers of headlines.

Only the special can do this. Can score 93 off 96 balls as he did last year against Sri Lanka after returning from six months out because of elbow issues. Can return after making a duck in Multan on February 16 and score not just 141, but stay unbeaten, and last 50 overs. If he was making a statement, we heard it.

If it's been hard for Tendulkar, and annoying, because from 16 he's been a man of action and now he's condemned to these periods of idleness, he continues because cricket still infects his being. When he turned to heaven after the West Indies century, he may have thought of his late father, but he was also "thanking God'' that he was simply able to play, "to do what I enjoy doing''.

"I dont mind pushing myself. Every time you push yourself it's a torture only if you're not enjoying it, but I am (enjoying it). I look forward to even the practice sessions.'' At 33, Tendulkar's iron will is carrying a patched-up body forward.

His form, he admits, these past two years "has been good in patches". The injuries, all pertinently to his upper body, have stolen momentum from him, but time, too, has robbed his batting of some luminosity. No man is the greatest forever; but some men, like him, just remain great for longer.

I ask him, forget the scores, how does he know when he's batting well. He says: "When I see the ball early enough and move the way I want to move. To commentators and experts, they may feel I'm not moving, but the batter (knows best). If I want to do something and am able to do that, then there's nothing to worry about."

TOP 10 Centuries by SPORTSTAR

HERE'S an attempt to pick 10 of Sachin Tendulkar's best centuries out of the 35 he has scored till the conclusion of the New Delhi Test against Sri Lanka. This list is subjective and does not seek to take away any credit from the 25 hundreds that do not find mention here.

119 not out, Manchester, 1990: Just 17, he played an innings of immense maturity to deny England a victory. His unfinished partnership with Manoj Prabhakar was worth 160 runs but more than anything it was the quality of his batting that made the contest memorable. India was not equipped to make an assault at the target of 408 in 88 overs. Even a draw looked a difficult task as India slid to 183 for six.

Tendulkar made a resolve that he would not hesitate to play his shots. His partner, Manoj Prabakhar, was stunned by the young man's strokeplay under pressure. The positive path Tendulkar chose helped him play his natural game. His ability to keep playing his shots allowed the young batsman to upset the attack. The English were left frustrated as Tendulkar returned to a standing ovation from the audience. A star was born that day and the home of cricket was quick to hail the arrival of Tendulkar in the big league. Among those who watched from the Indian dressing room included batsmen like Navjot Sidhu, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev.

114, Perth, 1992: His personal best for many reasons. First, the bounce. Second, the pace of the wicket. Third, and not the least, the attack — Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel and Mike Whitney. No place for a spinner. The sensational strokeplay came in the first innings and left the cricket world in a trance. Batting on that track was a test of skills and courage, but Tendulkar was out to prove a point. His backfoot play took the wind out of the Aussie fast bowlers. Bouncers were smashed around and his shots square of the wicket were savage as he showed utter disdain for the attack. He met fire with fire and produced an innings that was applauded the world over for sheer quality. Shots exploded from his willow and the innings established him as a batsman with a great future.

111, Johannesburg, 1992: India's historic tour to South Africa was made memorable by Pravin Amre's century on debut at Durban on a lively track. Tendulkar left his mark on the series with a grand century at The Wanderers. South Africa boasted of an attack that included Allan Donald, Brian McMillan, Craig Matthews. To Tendulkar's credit, he unveiled a flawless display of aggressive batting. The faster they bowled the harder Tendulkar hit. He was not going to be rattled by the short ball at all. He arrived at the wicket with India struggling at 27 for two. It became 77 for four and Tendulkar was left with the lower order to salvage the situation. He shielded his partners and compiled his runs without any discomfort to come up with a sterling century. The South African fans mobbed him at the end of the match and in the melee someone snatched his cap. It was a sight as Tendulkar chased the man and retrieved his cap.

165, Madras, 1993: After the disastrous tour to South Africa, the Indians were under pressure to deliver when they took on England at home. Mohammad Azharuddin had produced an electrifying 182 in the first Test at Calcutta and the second at Madras was expected to extract the best out of Graham Gooch and his men. There was a lot of juice in the pitch, but Navjot Sidhu showed the way for Tendulkar to consolidate with a brilliant knock. Once again, he displayed amazing maturity to piece together an innings that put the issue beyond the Englishmen. It was a superbly paced innings that left Devon Malcolm, Chris Lewis, Paul Jarvis, Ian Salisbury and Phil Tufnell frustrated. On a bowler-friendly pitch, he had carved a century that is still remembered for some exhilarating strokeplay.

169, Cape Town, 1996: A regal show all the way. A breathtaking performance that came after the team was reduced to 58 for five. In a jugalbandi with Azharuddin, he destroyed the South African attack with a flurry of aggressive shots. The partnership was worth 222 runs and it took an incredible catch in the deep by Adam Bacher to stop the rampaging Tendulkar in his tracks. The innings was as good as a highlights package as he tore into the attack of Allan Donald, Brian McMillan, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener. "One of the greatest knocks that I have seen in my life," said Madan Lal, coach of the team on that tour. He played every stroke in the book and earned a standing ovation from the audience at Newlands for an unforgettable knock.

155 not out, Chennai, 1998: This innings would always remain special even for Tendulkar because he showed the way to dominate leg-spin wizard Shane Warne. "He made it so easy for the rest. Every time Warne came around the stumps I would ask Sachin to take over. And what a show he produced. Sachin attacked Warne by hitting him against the turn. It was a sight for the gods really," said Navjot Sidhu. The calculated manner in which Tendulkar tamed Warne with some astonishing strokeplay was a treat for the spectators. It was a very professionally planned innings with vintage shots that gave the connoisseurs their money's worth. The assault made an impact on Warne, who was sporting enough to concede that he had been mastered by a truly great batsman. It indeed was a privilege to have watched one of the finest attacking innings in Test cricket.

136, Chennai, 1999: An innings that came in for praise even from the opposition. He almost created victory from a hopeless situation in the company of Nayan Mongia. If he failed to finish his job it was due to a painful back that hampered his movements during the latter, and most crucial, stages of his stay at the crease. Wasim Akram rated Tendulkar's effort as one of the all-time great knocks. "A flawless innings under great stress," was Akram's description of that heroic performance. The fourth innings target of 271 grew tougher because of the state of the pitch. The ball was turning and off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq had tasted blood. India stood staring at defeat at 82 for five when Tendulkar took over the stage in his inimitable way. He battled back spasms and an inspired attack that made run-making an extremely tough task. Akram, Saqlain, Waqar Younis, Nadeem Khan and Shahid Afridi tried every trick to unsettle the maestro but met with staunch resistance. "It was an innings that only Sachin could have played," recalled Mongia. Having scripted a remarkable recovery, Tendulkar succumbed to the guiles of Saqlain, who induced an unwise swipe, just the shot that Sunil Gavaskar had cautioned him against at the start of the day's play. The Pakistanis won by 12 runs and received a standing ovation from the sporting Madras crowd. Tendulkar lost the match but won the `Man of the Match' award. But he is still haunted by the heartbreaking defeat.

193, Leeds, 2002: For Yorkshire natives, it was a grand treat. Centuries from Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Nasser Hussain made it an unforgettable batting feast in conditions that were favourable for the bowlers. The English attack of Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Caddick, Alex Tudor, Andrew Flintoff and Ashley Giles was handled with élan by Tendulkar. He enjoyed an outstanding tour and did not let down his supporters with an innings that evoked appreciation from Hussain. The Englishman described Tendulkar's majestic essay as an "education" in batting. Tendulkar was involved in two partnerships — with Dravid and Ganguly — that sealed England's fate despite some negative bowling by the home bowlers. Tendulkar played the dominating role and carried the innings on his shoulders. His knock was the motivation for the bowlers to fashion a comprehensive innings victory.

241 not out, Sydney, 2004: It was the last Test of a highly competitive series, and also the farewell match for Steve Waugh, one of the greatest cricketers the game has seen. Tendulkar, having struggled in the preceding matches, chose the appropriate stage to sign off the series in style. This was certainly not the best of his centuries but it was his most determined in a long time. His first double century outside India was his way of paying tribute to Waugh, who was known for similar tenacity. "Happy to score runs against a team like Australia," was a simple comment from Tendulkar but his innings was a big lesson in building an innings and playing within one's limitations. Tendulkar fought indifferent form with an amazingly disciplined knock that saw him avoid off-side shots. As a result, he came up with some great on-side play and worked the ball relentlessly to defy the Australian game plan. One could not recall a single cover-driven four since he had cut out that shot to avoid getting into trouble. The `Man of the Match' award was a fitting honour to his dedication in the middle.
194 not out, Multan, 2004: This innings is a part of history. India's first ever Test win on Pakistan soil, the first ever triple century in Tests by an Indian (309 by Virender Sehwag) and the controversy over Rahul Dravid's declaration, leaving Tendulkar stranded six runs short of a double century on the trot, added to the excitement of the contest. With Sehwag on the rampage, Tendulkar did not mind playing the second fiddle and ensured the team did not lose focus. He was instrumental in setting up a huge total that put Pakistan under tremendous pressure. Apart from playing his customary role of giving the innings direction, Tendulkar also guided Sehwag, who acknowledged his partner's priceless contribution. Tendulkar's was a solid effort and his monumental association with Sehwag was one of the highlight.

By God, He's God

EVEN when he's miles away from home, putting the world's most feared bowlers to the sword, Tendulkar is omnipresent at the coaching camps that have mushroomed across India's cricket-crazy cities. Monotheism is the unquestioned creed. Sachin is God, the only God. While wide-eyed youngsters, wielding bats heavier than their bodies, want to model their game on the master blaster's, many parents are willing to wager everything on their children in the frenzied search for more Tendulkars. Says Prinann Dutta (13), of Calcutta Boys School: "Sachin is the Boss. I worship him."



So do numerous young cricket enthusiasts. Sachin inspires the kind of fervour generally reserved for Divinity. Not even Gavaskar or Kapil quite had the same impact. They were huge icons of their times, but their exploits were always in the realm of the tangible. Tendulkar's deeds have assumed mythic proportions even as he's only probably a quarter of the way through his career.



Non-stop live TV has helped no doubt, but it's Tendulkar's own aura that's translated into a windfall for the cricket coaching shops. Virtually everyday, a new private coaching centre is unveiled in some corner of India, one of the latest being the Sunil Gavaskar Foundation training scheme in Calcutta. In Delhi, almost every major former cricketer, not to speak of veteran coaches like Drona-charya award-winning Gurcharan Singh, is actively involved with overbooked seasonal or permanent coaching camps. Demand far outstrips supply. Says Dilip Vengsarkar, who runs Mumbai's Elf Cricket Academy: "Sachin's been responsible for the increase in the number of kids taking up serious cricket training." The Calcutta cricketer-turned-coach Gopal Bose says: "Sachin is the No. 1 idol of the boys I coach. There's no other name. Ganguly maybe, but there isn't a third name."



Not surprising at all. He stands alone in the pantheon of cricket's Mt Olympus. Says Aravind Lal (13), a student of Hyderabad's Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan: "Sachin's God's gift to Indian cricket. I dream of emulating him, but can I?" Can anybody? Wonders K. Sai Baba, who runs the MCH-Sport Coaching Foundation: "Is it possible to consciously produce Sachins? A sportsman like him is born once in a way." Quite so. Isn't that why Sachin mania gets bigger and bigger? Ask Gaurav Majumdar, 15, of Calcutta's Julien Day School. "I've idolised Sachin ever since I took to cricket four years ago," he gushes. Adulation's grown into full-blown obsession. The youngster's bedroom walls are plastered with Sachin posters. He's asked his mother to pick up every book, every article that mentions the Big Little Master. "If you idolise Sachin, you don't need to idolise anyone else. He grabs your attention totally," says Gaurav. That's a bit like Sac-hin's game: no half measures.



But when a young cricketer goes gaga over Sachin, he should keep his feet on the ground, warns former Ranji player Vijay Mohanraj, the first to start a private coaching centre at the Secunderabad Gymkhana grounds. "Not everyone can be a Sachin. Coaching is only a part of the learning process. Everything hinges on natural ability." Cricketing abilities do vary at these camps. But the reigning idol is constant. Such is Sachin's power over minds and hearts.

Its Whizcraft - TOM ALTER


Dominance is not the right word. Yes, Sachin Tendulkar dominates. But there is no subtlety in dominating— no sense of the art in the craft. Because, Sachin, like no other batsman today, brings art into his craft, and craft into his art. So when he dom- inates— even when he swears revenge on a bowler who has got him out cheaply— Sachin’s madness always has a method. Viv Richards was more of the madness, Sunil Gavaskar more of the method. Sachin— well, Sachin is the best of both.

Just over 10 years ago, I sat in the office of Sportsweek magazine with that same Sunil Gavaskar. Ayaz Memon and I were listening to Gavaskar in one of his rare, priceless moods. The ‘Little Master’ was delving deep into his own experience, his own genius, and bringing forth pearls of wisdom as sudden, and as effective, as his straight- drives back past the bowler. Then Gavaskar came up with the following statement (remember, this was in 1988, when Dilip Vengsarkar was about to become captain of India): "The two best batsmen in Bombay today are Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar." Full stop. End of statement. The ball crosses the boundary-line underneath the sight- screen.

Sachin was 15 at the time. His immense partnership with Vinod Kambli was already part of cricketing lore, and his name was there to be read in the fine- print almost every day. But he had only played for his school. Yet Gavaskar was certain.And a few months later, when we were planning a sports- video for Sportsweek , Gavaskar’s words still filled my mind. I wanted to interview Vengsarkar and Tendulkar, the two best batsmen in Bombay.I had always been a fan of Vengsarkar’s, and I knew that he has suffered from being a Shashi Kapoor to Gavaskar’s Amitabh Bachchan. But Gavaskar had retired, so Vengsarkar was free to be his own man.Vengsarkar was ready and willing for the interview, and we decided to shoot it on the Marine Drive side of Hindu Gymkhana. When we enquired from Vengsarkar about Sachin, he told us that Sachin had net- practice with the Bombay team at Wankhede Stadium that morning. (Sachin had, by the time of interview, played for Bombay, and scored a century in his first Ranji Trophy match.)

Vengsarkar joined us at the nets, and the first sight I had of Sachin was him playing an off- drive on the ‘up’. And as I watched the stroke, Vengsarkar said: "Sachin Tendulkar’s weakness is going for his shots on the off side, and loft- ing them." It was ten years ago that Vengsarkar said that. Today, just watch the off- side fields set for Sachin when he first comes in to bat. The opponents are planning— almost desperately— for that same alleged weakness of Sachin’s to appear.Very seldom do they succeed. For Sachin Tendulkar has taken the art of driving on the ‘up’, and crafted it into one of the most breathtaking shots of modern cricket. Art and craft. The secret of Sachin.

Eventually, 10 years ago, Sachin had batted enough, and we took him to the Hindu Gymkhana. I interviewed him with a match going on in the background. Sachin was shy, but confident. He spoke only enough to get his point across. He was not at all nervous about the interview, and treated it as a necessary experience. At the age of 15.Ten years later, he speaks easier, and more often. But the confidence is the same. Not bravado, not ego. Just a deep confidence in his art, his craft. The essential Sachin has not changed.

In our interview, four points stood out. Firstly, Sachin stated that Gavaskar and Richards were his heroes. Secondly, Sachin, without hesitation, said that he could read Hirwani’s googly, and was ready to face the West Indian fast- bowlers. (In fact, he said he prefers fast bowling.)Thirdly, when asked whether he grew tired of batting while with Kambli in that mammoth partnership, Sachin’s reply was almost an unbelieving shake of the head. And fourthly, Sachin made it very clear that being compared with Gavaskar was a bit embarrassing for him, and that he simply wanted to play his own, "natural" game.

The inspiration of Gavaskar and Richards, the confidence to face any type of bowling, the love for fast bowling, the desire to play and play, and, finally, the knowledge that your skill is unique— these ingredients made Sachin a very special 15- year old, and they still make him a very, very special 25- year- old.

After the interview, we had Sachin walk across to where he had left his bat and kit- bag, pick up his bat thoughtfully, look into the distance, and then pick up his kit- bag too, and walk out towards Marine Drive and into the future. It was a shot which any veteran actor would have rehearsed several times, and probably muffed just as often. Sachin did it— first take ‘OK’. It was as natural as his batting. Ten years later, he faces the cameras for umpteen ad- films with the same uncluttered ease.

Will Sachin still be as uncluttered, as natural, 10 years from now?

I write this soon after Sachin’s century in the second innings of the first match of the New Zealand tour. It was a match of no apparent importance, beyond getting to know the conditions.

And yet, Sachin played a knock of amazing skill and determination.

Why?

Because he, and India, had failed in the first innings. And Sachin Tendulkar knew how important it was for him to not only succeed in the second innings, but dominate with his art and craft. Which he proceeded to do. Remember the knock against Shane Warne for Mumbai in the first match of Australia’s tour of India this year? Another apparently insignificant match. But Sachin used it to set the tone for an entire series. A series which will be written about for decades. A series which made Sachin a mythical legend.

Ten years from now, Sachin Tendulkar will still be doing just that— playing the game he loves to play to the best of his immense ability. It is as simple as that.

And just think— 10 years from now, Sachin will be only 35. He could still play for another 10 years after that.

And they will still be setting those off-side fields for him, trying to get him to drive on the ‘up’. Once again, it’s as simple as that.

And I will be showing my grandchildren the tape of Sachin’s interview.

The Napolean of Centurian - TED CORBETT

IS there anyone, no matter how experienced, how qualified, how seasoned, who dare to measure the greatness that lies within Sachin Tendulkar? I doubt it. In an era of sublime batsmen - Lara, Kallis, Dravid and Ganguly, the Australian top five, none of whom need to have their names spelt out -Sachin has no equal.For 13 years Test and one-day batsmanship has been defined by his deeds. We have been in awe of his skills, ready first of all to be enchanted by his youth, then to be respectful of his mighty figures, and now to be assured that, whatever Bradman achieved, whatever Gavaskar did, Tendulkar stands on his own.He is not just the richest of cricketers but the most richly rewarding to watch.

In the early 21st century we can easily recall the achievements of another generation only recently past: Lloyd and Richards, the Chappell brothers, Martin Crowe, Javed Miandad, Gower and Botham, Azharuddin and Zaheer Abbas; all touched with angelic grace and producing figures to astound us. None measure up to the prowess of Tendulkar, the supreme batsman. We knew it when the World Cup began and now we have had all our adjectives confirmed, all our dreams realised, seen his muscular batsmanship reach heights we only guessed at, seen, best of all, his courage, his imaginative use of the unorthodox, and wondered once again at his pocket battleship strength. Here is no Viv Richards using his boxer's power to whip the ball to whatever part of the field took his fancy; here is no David Gower, harnessing his lithesome elegance and timing to ease the ball hither and thither.

For, let us make no bones about it, Tendulkar is small yet, like those Amazons of the tennis circuit Venus and Serena Williams, he can stand away from the ball and yet hit it powerfully. Into the crowd as he did against Pakistan in that never-to-be-forgotten win or around the boundary ropes as he did in the England game. There has never been another batsman like him. One of a kind; and what a one! The poet Chesterton's phrase "The legend of an epic hour'' from The Napoleon of Notting Hill fits him precisely. Tendulkar is more properly The Napoleon of Centurion, a ground that ought to have a memorial to his deeds but before he raced to that magic score against Pakistan he had already made this tournament his own. He seems to have realised quicker than most that the old tactic of a 15-over bash at the top of the innings would not apply against the white ball on these sluggish South African pitches.

Sixty runs has been the mean average for the overs of field restriction in this event and that is how Sachin went about scoring his runs. How right he was too.By the time the preliminary matches had been completed, after 24 days of controversy and confusion, Tendulkar stood head and shoulders above the rest. Remember Shane Warne's departure under the shadow of a drugs charge, Rashid Latif's threat to sue, New Zealand's decision to drop out of the match in Nairobi, England's long battle to have their Zimbabwe match moved to South Africa, arguments about the failure to post four fielders in the ring, the ban on Waqar Younis for bowling beamers, Pakistan's fight during a football game, South Africa's inability to interpret the Duckworth-Lewis rules. The stories are endless. Happily, they are all forced into the shadow by Tendulkar's dynamic batting. As the preliminary matches ended his statistics took the breath away.

He began on the fourth day of the World Cup with 52 from 72 balls off Holland; a pipe-opener that went almost unnoticed as the host South Africa led by Shann Pollock slaughtered Kenya. (If only we had known then that Kenya were not the mugs of the competition but the first round heroes; would we not at this moment be sitting on our own Caribbean island, soaking up the sun and wondering how we might spend our ill-gotten gains.)



From that moment he made a steady progress of sizeable scores: 36 off 59 against Australia, 81 off 91 against Zimbabwe, 152 off 151 versus Namibia, 50 from 52 against England and finally, gloriously, 98 from 78 balls delivered by Pakistani bowlers brought victory and a certain place in the Super Sixes. In total six innings, 469 runs, at 78.19 with a century and four fifties ? not to mention a strike rate of 93.80 ? meant that as the teams regrouped for the next stage it was being called Tendulkar's Tournament. When we set his last few weeks in context we are not disappointed. Overall in World Cups Tendulkar has played 27 innings in 28 matches, been not out three times and scored 1,528 runs with that 152 not out against hapless Namibia his highest score. He averages a colossal 63.67, he scores at 88.63 for each 100 balls he faces and he has four hundreds and 10 fifties.

Surely there is another World Cup in his life which means that one day he will retire - yes, even gods have to put their feet up at some stage in their lives ? with figures beyond the dreams of youngsters starting on their one-day careers. Just as a reminder, Tendulkar has played 309 one-day games, batted 300 times, scored 12,015 runs with his highest score an undefeated 186, an average of 44.50, 34 centuries and 60 fifties. He collects those runs at 86.43 runs each 100 deliveries. I will throw in his Test statistics just to show what a big man lies inside that chunky body. In 105 Tests he has batted 169 times, scored 8,811 runs, including 31 centuries and 35 fifties at an average of 57.59.

So as the preliminary matches in the 2003 World Cup ended, Tendulkar had scored 20826 international runs and 65 international centuries and, not just in the opinion of the sub-continent, was sitting so high on Mount Everest that his rivals appeared to be making their way through the foothills. And, even in this World Cup, there is so much more to come. Perhaps even success for India if the rest of the side can back up that great man's towering success. The figures are not as impressive but he bowls and fields as enthusiastically as he must have done in his teen years when he set out on this great career in the rough grounds of Mumbai. He has captained India too and one day he may do so again.


So thank heavens for Tendulkar. He may be a millionaire many times over and he might, if he chose, retire and live in luxury for the rest of his days.But the best of this extraordinary cricketer is that, having played all the matches on the calendar, he rises every morning keen to play, looking forward to carrying that hefty bat to the middle and certain, as he has every right to be, that he can make even more runs.

Portrait Of A Brat

WHEN Atul Ranade was sent to Junior KG for no fault of his, he chose to sit behind someone whose flowing long locks caught his eye. In a bout of elementary heterosexuality, he thought it was a girl. "But it turned out to be a boy and that too a very strong boy," he recalls. The muster called him Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Those were the days when he was shorter than the stumps, when he had his own method of communicating with weaker peers and that was, "bashing them up for no reason". One day, when he was in the second standard, as a part of his daily drill, he hit an erring schoolmate. And that boy, it turned out, was two years his senior. The humiliation did not go down well in the stunned fourth grade. And by evening a syndicate of eight-year-olds with an attitude that the principal would not have thought highly of, waited by the gate for retribution.

"They were waiting but somehow he escaped. I don't know how," says Ranade, the mystery still lingering somewhere in the eye.

He was very shrewd." He was gifted with talents that seemed to be obsolete, as the human society had moved away from its tribal roots. Ranade remembers a game in which a boy carried another on his back. Now this boy had to nudge other similar units of two and throw them off balance. "Sachin had this knack of shoving people with his shoulders. Anyone who paired with him would win." Back in Sahitya Sahawas, where Sachin lived with endearingly cultured parents and siblings, a pleasant life was taking form. But in any such pleasant domestic setting there is a mandatory gutter and in such gutters there are bound to be fish. Sachin's penance for mugging weak individuals seemed to be picking up fish from this gutter and giving them a new life in a bottle of municipality water. "He had this black fish, I remember, which he had taken from the gutter," says photographer Avinash Govarikar who has been a neighbour for life. "He was a very tender person. But he was always fascinated with power, speed and things like that." When a new recruit joined the gang, among the primary information that Sachin wanted to gather was whether 'this boy' could hit 'that boy'. But, though little boys were not included, other organic compounds like pups and cats got Sachin's sympathy and care.

Govarikar remembers a day, when the boys surveyed Sachin longer than necessary. Someone had cut his hair short. The flowing locks were gone. "He looked so different all of a sudden," Govarikar says. It's still not clear whether the decision to trim the hair was taken democratically or some elder in the house decided to put hygiene before fashion, but in a final analysis, Sachin now thought he looked like McEnroe. The boys' circle agreed.

The God Of Big Things

The personal and private side of Sachin Tendulkar is as fascinating and inspiring as his very high profile public life. H Natarajan dwells deep to present the human side of India’s national treasure. It’s a story based on the writer’s interactions with Tendulkar and with those associated with the player over the years.


Sahitya Sahawas, a co-operative housing society of writers in the western suburbs of Bandra, about six kms from Mumbai's famed Shivaji Park, boasts of respected names in Marathi literature like Gangadhar Gadgil, Arvind Gokhale, VP Kale, KJ Purohit, Shrinivas Bhange, Vrinda Karandikar, MV Rajadakshya and Vijaya Rajadakshya.

A stone's throw from Sahitya Sahawas is Patrakar Nagar, residence to some household names in Indian journalism. And not very far away from the two societies, is a modern fortress housing firebrand politician Bal Thackeray.

Amid these celebrated names was a cultured, middle-class household. The head of this family, Prof Ramesh, was a gold-medal winning Marathi literature professor and poet. His eldest son, Nitin, also became a poet and won the state government’s literary award for his first book. But it was the youngest of the professor’s four children who, says Nitin, “needed constant attention from elders in the family.”

``As a child, my kid brother would spend the entire day on the play ground and would hate coming home for his noon meals and nap. He was very difficult to handle at times. Sometimes my grandmother or mother would tie one of his legs to a wooden bench and attend to their house work, like of Bal Krishna!''

Even before he dropped out of college in pursuit of non-academic excellence, the boy had raised visions of becoming an icon and in the years to come attained Demi-God status. Amitabh Bachchan joined in the hosannas to say: “Sachin (Tendulkar) is the heartbeat of our nation. The country breathes every time he goes out to play and when he is out, the country stops breathing.”

Humility and credibility have remained Tendulkar’s strongest allies from his days as a non-entity to a super celebrity. I have watched him from close quarter right from his school days and never once I have seen him behave in an insensitive or arrogant manner. Now that is something not easy when you are a megastar.

A noted cricket columnist compared Tendulkar with Brian Lara: “One has his head high in the clouds, the other has his feet firmly planted on ground. While Lara has acquired for himself a swanky nine-bedroom luxury abode in Trinidad, adorned with marble staircase and a bat-shaped swimming pool, Tendulkar, international cricket's biggest money-spinner, lives in a modest two-bedroom house.”

Of course, this was written before Tendulkar moved into a swank, spacious house quite late in his career. It’s perfectly alright for anybody to enjoy luxuries in life from legitimate labour, but what the writer was trying to convey was that despite earning enormous wealth Tendulkar continued to stay for years in the same middle-class environment.

Nitin, the eldest of the Tendulkar brothers, gave me an insight into Sachin the person during a visit to his place a few years back: “He seeks blessings at the feet of all the family elders and Achrekar Sir before embarking on a tour. And he never forgets to buy things for every single family members when he returns back from the tour. Another endearing quality about him is that he never gets angry.”

One can vouch for that. Even when he is cocooned in the privacy of his hotel room with a `Do Not Disturb' board on his door, he has shown compassion than anger towards deadline-pressured journalists knocking at his door. He would be much happier if he were left alone by the media, yet few Indian superstars have been as helpful as him.

He has no known enemies in the media, but then he has not cultivated favourites either. To those who have offended him by their writings, his philosophy is simple: ``Pressmen too are entitled to having their bad days.''

Ajit Tendulkar (the brother who shaped Sachin’s cricketing fortunes) said in one of his meetings with me: ``I have never heard Sachin complain about anything written against him. He takes everything written about him in his stride – be it good or bad. He allows nothing to affect him.

If there is one thing he could buy with all his money, then it’s privacy. Taking the family out for a movie or for a dinner would mean running the risk of being mobbed. For a religious man like him, even going to the temples mean the focus shifting from the stone idols to the living idol! So visit to temples are at unearthly hours. He just cannot do simple things that most people take it for granted.

When he was still in the prime of his youth, he understood his social responsibility and said no to endorsing cigarettes, alcohol and pan masala when others of his age were making ‘style statements’ doing exactly the opposite. But then, while boys of his age were playing gully cricket, he was already rubbing shoulders with cricketing greats like Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin. It would be fair to say, Tendulkar missed a lot of things that boys do in their teenage years. As a result, the mental transition to manhood came about while physically he still looked an adolescent.

A common praise I heard from all those who have known him is that he has always showed concern for those not as fortunate as him. The Mumbai team got Reebok as their sponsors a few years back only because Tendulkar agreed, though the money offered for the entire team was one fourths of the price Tendulkar single-handedly commanded at that time. He agreed only because it would help the rest of his team-mates. And it’s not just fellow players. He paid his entire Ranji Trophy season's earnings to the Mumbai Cricket Association ground staff after Mumbai beat Punjab in the 1994-95 final.

There is unanimity that fame and success have not changed him one bit. This despite the fact that his single month's earnings - even very early in his career - far exceeded the amount most people get after slogging a lifetime. Even today, except for his passion for luxury cars and fast driving, his interests are like any other middle class person – music, family, friends and good food.

Though he is a very private person by nature, he is not a recluse. He is fun-loving when and where he wants to be. “In the dressing room, at times he is like a schoolboy when he is with Vinod (Kambli). They keep pulling each other's legs,” says Balwinder Sandhu.

Of course, Kambli has remained one of his soul mates since his Sharadashram school days. “He is the first guy I talk to anything important about my cricketing, personal or private life,” Kambli had told me once about his closest buddy. “I will never forget the happiness on his face when I and Ajay (Jadeja) join the team in Australia for the 1992 World Cup. (The team that had stayed back after the Test series against Australia). It was around 12.30 at night when we arrived in the team hotel. And there was Sachin waiting for me, greeting me with a warm hug. He knew I would make it for the World Cup.”

The concern and love that Kambli talks kept ringing in my ears everytime I spoke to somebody known to Tendulkar. Coach Ramakant Achrekar said: “It was Sachin who was instrumental in the success of my two benefits. He is very big-hearted and distributes among his team-mates gifts showered on him. He has never forgotten the values and upbringing inculcated in him by his parents.”

As Ajit Tendulkar explained: ``Our parents gave us the liberty to do what we want. But we ensured that we did not breach the trust reposed on us. Even when the decision was made to change Sachin's school from New English (Bandra) to Shardasharam, my dad spoke to Sachin to know his feelings even at that young age.''

Tendulkar’s decision to be largely private, soft-spoken and non-demonstrative has meant many of his inspiring qualities do not get the attention that it deserves. Prof Ratnakar Shetty told me how upset Tendulkar was to see the Indian flag hung upside down during India’s 1997 tour of Sri Lanka. Tendulkar, Shetty added, not only called the liaison officer and saw to it the mistake was quickly rectified but also asked him how he would have felt to see the Sri Lankan national flag in such a position.

Photographer Pradeep Mandhani reiterates Tendulkar’s patriotism: “Barely two hours after landing in Johannesburg on the 1992-93 tour to South Africa, the team was to visit Tolstoy Farm, Mahatma Gandhi’s first Satyagrahi Commune founded in 1910. It was situated 35 kms from Jo’burg and most of the Indian players showed little interest, longing to rest in the hotel after the long flight. But Tendulkar, still a teenager, looked keen and hungry to learn more about Gandhi. His volley of questions to the guide reflected his national pride.”

Another journalist friend, Joseph Hoover, recalls a casual conversation he had with Tendulkar on the 1997 tour of Pakistan led. “I suggested to Sachin to do something for the less fortunate of the society. He instantly agreed and asked me my plans; I had none as it was a casual remark. But within minutes he phoned Meerut and arranged for bats to be sent to Bangalore which were to be signed by players and later auctioned. Thanks to his initiative and the enthusiasm of the Indian team, an auction of cricketing equipment donated by players was held the following year and the proceeds went to street children in Mumbai (Apnalaya) and a home for the blind and another the leprosy afflicted in Bangalore. All this from a casual talk.”

Tendulkar’s concern for terminally-ill children is especially pronounced. He does not like to put off any meetings when they want to meet him, even when doctors assure him that there is no immediate threat to their lives. He even keeps in touch with their families. Of course, he hates talking about it.

He shows similar concern for fellow players. Beneficiaries in India often suffer when players don’t turn up after promising to participate in their benefit games, but Tendulkar has never been accused of letting down any player. He is aware of his magnetic powers, having seen spectators in thousands heading for the exit the moment he is dismissed.

Says TA Sekhar: “There was much hype in the media when Sachin had become the first overseas player to be signed for Yorkshire. He had promised that he would play my benefit, but I feared that his star appeal would be missing. It would have been a huge blow for me. When I rang up Sachin, he replied: ‘Don’t worry, when I give my word I honour it. I have made it clear before signing the contract with Yorkshire that I have a commitment to play a benefit and I cannot let down the beneficiary.’ Sachin kept up his word.”

Tendulkar’s public reputation is such that when he was accused of ball tampering, the entire nation rose in protest. NKP Salve, former Union Minister and a past president of the BCCI, echoed the sentiments of the masses when he said: “Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It’s clear discrimination.” The ICC were forced to explain that Tendulkar’s only mistake was removing grass from the ball without informing the umpires, “which is very different from ball tampering”.

One of the biggest factors that vouch for his credibility was at the height of the match-fixing scandal it was said that the betting mafia would not fix odds till Tendulkar was dismissed.
Tendulkar is unquestionably one of the all-time greats of the game, but what boggles the mind is the fact that, despite the surrealistic fame and trappings of money, the values and humility inculcated by his parents have remained intact. The middle class roots of the Tendulkars are very strong. Sachin’s mother Rajini continued to be an LIC employee long after her son became cricket’s Bill Gates.

Tendulkar may have made the transition from Bandra East to the upper crust Bandra West in a building that also houses another high-profile celebrity - Aishwarya Rai. But East or West, “the greatest living Indian”, as Bishan Bedi once lauded Sachin, remains still unspoilt, uncorrupted and unassuming as ever.