Sachin backache from India overkill (30 August 1999)
COLOMBO (Sri Lanka) - Sachin Tendulkar is feeling the pinch and it is not the continual backache which has left his limited overs career hanging by a thread
30-Aug-1999
30 August 1999
Sachin backache from India overkill
Trevor Chesterfield
COLOMBO (Sri Lanka) - Sachin Tendulkar is feeling the pinch and it is
not the continual backache which has left his limited overs career
hanging by a thread.
As India's most recognised export (Basmati rice and curry spices
apart) he is becoming so stressed from an assortment of match schedule
demands and overexposure this year the physical strain is starting to
show barely six weeks into his second spell as captain.
Whether it is a question of the Indian hierarchy pandering to the
whims of TV moguls or their own greed about making a quicker buck from
selling match rights than they can do through the gates, the weight on
Tendulkar's stocky frame has become considerable. And just how India
manage to perform without him has left a distinct uneasy feeling as
the side packs and heads for Singapore for yet another LOI series:
this one involves West Indies and Zimbabwe.
After they move on to Toronto then home again for a brief 'howdy do'
reunion with the family before collecting their passports again with
visa's for Kenya and a quadrangular tournament which also involves
South Africa. And that takes them into October when they get back for
a series against New Zealand.
This crazy schedule has created doubt in some of the travelling Indian
media about the board's demands on a team which was shown up as
decidedly mediocre in Sri Lanka in the Aiwa Cup series against the
hosts and Australia. There is also doubt whether Tendulkar,
considering his back problems, can last the demanding schedule of
matches.
Not for the first time has the Board of Control for Cricket in India
ignored suggestions of developing younger talent and there is a
distinct impression in some areas close to the team the board they are
prescribing selection policy to make it easier to sell TV packages.
Which begs the question, what happens when Tendulkar's back injury
becomes so crippling he is forced to retire?
Just as Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garry Sobers and Sir Leonard Hutton
were unique, and Steve Waugh is equally a modern legend so is the
Indian master: you cannot manufacture players; they are born with the
talent, refining the skills is part of the job. It was sad when he
felt there was a need to play in the game against Sri Lanka at the
Sinhalese Sports Club on Sunday.
If Tendulkar is not around to duel with the world's best, India's
batting is in danger of becoming decidedly impotent when facing
bowling attacks in the post World Cup era. Even team insiders are
admitting the Indian bowlers have lost what penetration they had
during the opening matches. While the defeat by Zimbabwe can be blamed
on poor batting, the games during this particular tournament in Sri
Lanka are the result of poor bowling and fielding.
What is the use of Tendulkar risking further injury to his back if the
bowling and the fielding cannot support the man who gave them an
outside chance to qualify? If he has to carry this burden to Singapore
and Toronto and India fail yet again, it should be time to ask
questions of those making the demands and impoverishing the India side
even further.
As Pradeep Magazine, author of a book of how India's modern
panjandrums pull the puppet strings 'It is not Cricket' to suit their
own sitar music and ignore the developing crisis in the game,
Tendulkar's injury is just a part of a problem 'they would wish would
disappear'.
"If they (the board) are serious about preserving his talent, they
should stop him playing in the remaining limited overs matches until
his back injury has been accurately diagnosed," he commented last
night after India had beaten Sri Lanka but lost out on run rate
because the bowlers had performed so poorly.
"Perhaps it is well," he thoughtfully reflected, "we did not qualify
for this final. It would have papered over so many cracks in the
side." A man whose probing thoughts have bit under the skin of BCCI
members because his comments are too close to the truth for comfort,
Pradeep's views are shared by many of the India media. While Sri Lanka
are engaged enthusiastically in a rebuilding process which is already
showing some signs of success, if only at LOI level, India a
floundering from one disaster to another.
A land with almost a billion inhabitants, India should be among the
top four Test and LOI playing nations. What happened to the talent of
the Youth World Cup side in South Africa in January 1998? The stars of
the future have been ignored while New Zealand, Australia, South
Africa, Sri Lanka and even the West Indies are preparing their talent
for the future. India, it appears has no development programme, a sad
indictment for a nation in an area which has much more than passion
for the game, once described as being 'Indian but invented by the
English'.
Source :: Trevor Chesterfield, Pretoria News