Answers for Mr. G. Sampath's 10 Question to Sachin Tendulkar

Answers Written By, Rakhi Priyadarshini.

My answer for Mr. G. Sampath's 10 Question. As SACHIN doesn't have time to go through these kind of bullshit, so, being his true devotee, I just thought of replying. Crafted in leisure time during office :D

1. In 1999-2000, Indian cricket was rocked by the match-fixing scandal. You were a key member of the team that was captained by Mohammed Azharuddin, and Ajay Jadeja was your teammate. But you didn’t say a word. When asked why you remained silent, you said: “The only reason I did not speak about it is that I didn’t know anything about it. I would have given a statement if I knew something.” So are you lying, or are you being a cretin when you say that you had no clue about match-fixing going on?

~ The best answer to this would be - Even Bookies dont dare to put the bet ON when Sachin is on the crease. Hope u understood Mr. Sampath.

2. The whole world knows that you (and subsequently MS Dhoni) are the reason the BCCI has been stonewalling the ICC’s move to make DRS (Decision Referral System) mandatory in all international fixtures. What exactly do you have against the DRS? Is it that, without technology, the benefit of the doubt (especially on LBWs) goes to the batsman, and you, knowing that there will be far more LBWs with DRS than without, don’t want technology messing with your averages and milestone-hunting?

~ Tendulkar is the one who's suffered most number of Wrong Umpiring Decisions yet He's the one who's touching the Everest. Need I explain more whether he needs 'support' for his so called 'milestone-hunting'?
Moreover, if technology would be involved in every aspect, the game will lose its charm. This, being a cricket fan, is my personal opinion.

3. You are richer than anybody can ever want to be. Why then are you forever, and shamelessly, asking or accepting favours from the government? Be it having to change the law (Customs Act) so you don’t have to pay duty on an obscenely expensive luxury vehicle, or petitioning the government to relax the FSI regulations for your bungalow in Bandra, why can’t you just graciously accept the rules that apply to everyone else instead of cashing in on your celebrity status to seek favours?

~ The Luxury vehicle, as mentioned by you, was GIFTED to him & there's no such rule to pay duty on gifted commodities till 2003. But after the rule change, it came under custom duty & SACHIN being a person who abides by the rules, honestly paid the duty for the same. And for the other part, perhaps your knowledge isn't well updated. Tendulkar had paid a sum of Rs 4.35 lakh + the fine to obtain NOC from the BMC for his bungalow. If he had the intentions of accepting FAVOURS, he wouldn't have DECLINED the government bungalow, being allotted to him after taking oath as RS Member. Hope you know about this.

4. For most, nay, all, of your adult life, you have been a very influential person, with access to the highest corridors of power. Yet, not once in your life have you ever taken a stand on any issue — not even on sporting ones. Do you then seriously expect to make a meaningful contribution to any of the debates in the Rajya Sabha? If not, why did you agree to become a Rajya Sabha MP?

~ Sachin's influence on the mass is beyond measurement. He appears in commercial for Polio drop campaign & people start following him blindly. He’s even associated with the NDTV’s 'Support My School' Campaign & many other social activities. He's the one who's openly said NO for promoting alcoholic brand as it'll have negative impact on the youth. Won’t you call it taking a stand? Or is it not influential for you? You don't need to be loud and dramatic to have your say. He does in his own calm & polite ways which people love to follow.

5. And having become a Rajya Sabha MP, you say ‘cricket comes first?!!’ What were you thinking? That being a Member of Parliament is a nice hobby or what?

~ He's been nominated for RS for his contribution in the field of sports, being spefic, cricket. Generally people tend to have 'set priorities' in their life. If something tops my priority, it doesn't mean I would neglect others. For example, Tendulakr is mainly a batsman but when it comes to bowling also, he's considered as the one with magic hands, helping the team when they need it most. Although, batting always is his priority. Got it?

6. Why is your captaincy record so abysmal? If your cricketing intelligence is so great, and if you are a thorough professional, and if you are a nice guy, how can you not be even an average captain, like, say, Anil Kumble was? You’ve got to have something that the other guys don’t have for you to be such an extraordinarily poor captain. What could this be? You ever think about that?

~ Cricket is a team game not an individual sport. Win or loss depends on a team's performance. Even though his captaincy is often criticized, we have had few major results during his captaincy. 'Titan cup' victory, one among them. If it was only HIS CAPTAINCY which was the reason of poor results then, well in that case, can you name 6-7 players who played during his captaincy? Where are they today?

7. Against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup this year, you crawled to your 100th hundred (114 in 147 balls on a flat track against a bovinely gentle attack) at 4.5 runs an over, and actually slowed down in the slog overs when the team’s interests dictated that you score faster. And it was because of your milestone obsession that we lost the match to Bangladesh, which cost us a place in the final. This is not a one-off incident, but the culminating irony of a long career marked by the relentless deployment of individual talent for individual glory, though last I checked, cricket was a team game. Now that you’ve got every record in the book, will you, at least in the last remaining matches of your career, either stop playing for records, or stop paying lip service to how you are a team player — because it’s too brazenly hypocritical to do both?

~ That Bangladesh was the same team which went to the final of the same Asia Cup. Defeating both World cup winner & runner-up in the league matches. Moreover, it was not because of his batting that we lost, we can't take wickets even after 250+ score, we shouldn't expect to win matches on obvious note.

8. Why is it that when the chips are down, and India is chasing, you never (save the Sharjah hundreds way back in 1998 on a flat track) ever take India home? Don’t say, ‘check the records’ — because the records tell me very clearly that you’ve never single-handedly (like Dravid did in Adelaide or Laxman did while batting with a number 11 to take India home against the Aussies) taken India past the finishing line in your 22-plus years of international cricket. And what kills me is that you had the ability to do exactly that — if Yuvraj could, Laxman could, and Dravid could, so could you. But you never did. You just cannot bat for the team under pressure, is that it? Or is it that you never cared for the team as much as you claim to?

~ With due respect for Laxman, Dravid & all those 'Match -Winners', whenever they played the main lead in building the innings, they got a support at least from 1 or 2 players who made sure that wickets don’t fall at other end. If you'll check the history, hardly any time, it happened with SACHIN. Whether it was Chennai in 1999 where 5 batsmen couldn't even manage to score just 15 runs in a test match after his dismissal or in Hyderabad where He alone scored half of the winning target but after that inning crumbled like a bunch of toothpicks. Yet he's the one who has given us moments of joy numerous times. Proof is the highest number of MOM awards in both formats of the game. FYI, it's given to the BEST player in the match on the basis of performance but not stardom.

9. I’ve been pondering this one for ages. How did you become such a boring person — open your mouth and everyone goes to sleep?

~ For this question... Well, all I can say is, you've got a poor taste. Might be your kind of person are those who literally Bark or are too loquacious to make you awake.

10. This is an easy one. Do you like journalists who suck up to you?

~ Funny one.. Just moments ago, you mentioned he's a boring person whom you wouldn't like to listen to & here you are asking for his views. Are you alright Mr. Sampath?