The marathon man of international cricket
He just goes on and on setting records that will probably last forever. It could be dangerous to make such predictions what with the proliferation of international cricket matches, but there is no such risk in sticking one' s neck out where Sachin Tendulkar is concerned. At an age when cricketers at least contemplate retirement - if they have not already called it a day - he is playing some of his finest knocks.
I well remember Colin Cowdrey being the first cricketer to play 100 Tests way back in 1968 against Australia at Birmingham. That was quite a feat 42 years ago, but since then, of course, with the proliferation of Test cricket we have had a number of players who have crossed the 100-mark and even while we await the first person to cross the 200-mark - it could well be Tendulkar - let us salute the little big man for having lasted so long and so gloriously.
Having made a close study of some of the greatest batsmen in the game, I find that a number of them faltered in the evening of their careers. Age is one factor that every sportsman comes up against sooner or later and this is the time when the reflexes become slow, the adrenalin may not flow like the younger days and the old enthusiasm for the game may be lacking. But these age old maxims cannot be applied to Tendulkar who like good wine is getting better with age.
No one can ever write off Tendulkar. One should not even take this risk, stick his neck out and be proved wrong. That has not stopped the critics who have kept his cricketing obituary ready and harped on cliches like he is past his best, he is getting on in years, he is injury prone and so on. Indeed, despite having to battle several fitness problems he is far from frustrated and can always be galvanized into action for the big occasion.
Yes, one must be cautious in making predictions about the little big man. A national newspaper came out with the now infamous headline 'Endulkar?' after a few failures in Pakistan at the start of 2006. This could be brushed aside as sensationalism or a vulgarly irresponsible job by a deskman who tried to be too clever but was made to eat humble and distasteful pie.
Since then, Tendulkar has gone on to make many more hundreds and thousands of runs in both formats and after more than 20 years in the game he still has goals - being a member of a World Cup winning side for example. It is clear that he will go out on a high - and on his own terms.
Just the other day he made it clear that people should not make his age an issue. Indeed, why should it be an issue when he is still going strong with feats like the first-ever double century by a batsman in ODIs and a fifth Test double hundred?
Ageless is perhaps the best way to describe Tendulkar' s art and craft. The way in which he takes off for a quick single, is willing to come back for a second and is still able to hold his own in the field despite being surrounded by much younger teammates belies his age.
As he said in an interview some time ago "I am enjoying the game. My effort will be to try and keep playing the game and help win matches but the enjoyment factor is extremely important." It certainly is. When a cricketer allows staleness to creep into his play it tells on his performance. Every outing is laboured, every stroke an effort. In Tendulkar's case one can see that on the field of play he still retains a boyish enthusiasm.
For Tendulkar, age seems to be just a number. In the same interview he said pointedly "Eventually how much you contribute is more important. I think the age factor is not relevant." It definitely is irrelevant in his case and the critics who make dire predictions about him do so at their own peril. Verily he is the marathon man of international cricket.
