Tendulkar’s option – Pick and choose

The most disturbing news from Australia is that Tendulkar will have no option but to take judicious breaks from cricket to ensure that his career does not get truncated by the injury.

Says Dr Anant Joshi, who accompanied Tendulkar to Australia: “It’s absolutely necessary for Sachin to cut down on the number of matches. Peak fitness and adequate rest are absolutely vital. He will have to listen to hisbody.”

Herein lies a message for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who are treating their cricketers like the proverbial goose that laid the golden eggs. The fact that Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia and Ajit Agarkar were all sidelined by injuries at the same time and not long ago Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad were rendered hors de combat by overuse of their bodies shows the complete lack of care and concern by BCCI in scheduling money-spinners — mainly One-Day Internationals.

BCCI may not have killed the golden goose, but their avarice for money has ensured that they cannot flash their trump card — Tendulkar — at all times to rake in the moolah. Already, the television promos for the Kenyan quadrangular are being made to look silly. The pre-championship hype involving Tendulkar looking completely out of place as the Indian captain has been forced to rule himself out for the championship.

From now on, guarantee money will see wild swings,depending on Tendulkar’s availability. Of course, one does not know the kind of pressure the Indian icon could come under from sponsors, who are now faced with the prospect of getting much lesser mileage. What one can say with some degree of certainty is that Tendulkar is unlikely to buckle under the kind of pressure that Ronaldo was believed to have gone down during the World Cup finals.

One of modern cricket’s greatest exercise has been trying to predict the quantum of runs and centuries that the still relatively young Tendulkar would score at the end of his career. Suddenly one is looking at dramatically different equations after the alarm bells sounded by medical experts — a wake-up call — who examined the hyperactive genius.

The situation from now on could be: Tendulkar may play demanding games against sides like Pakistan, Australia and South Africa and opt out for rest against sides like Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh. Which means he could miss out on comparatively easy pickings against thenot-so-stronger sides, causing inevitable imbalances in his averages.

Spondylosis is not an uncommon ailment. And any person who has been afflicted with the problem would vouch that the lighter the person the better he is in ensuring that the ailment is not aggravated. In that sense, irrespective of whatever advice Tendulkar may have got, it would seem prudent for him to shed needless weight — body weight and bat weight.

Tendulkar has made it clear that he is not comfortable playing with a lighter bat. Which is understandable, considering that he has been playing with a heavier bat for well over a decade. But if he opts for a lighter bat, the awesome power of his strokes would be a certain casualty.

Balwinder Singh Sandhu, the former India seamer and ex-Mumbai Ranji coach, feels that if Tendulkar is uncomfortable with a lighter bat then he should arrive at a compromise: start an innings with a regular bat and switch on to a lighter bat as fatigue sets in during the course of a long innings. Which begsthe question: could the heavier bat-induced fatigue have been a factor in the divinely talented Tendulkar scoring just one double hundred in a first class career spanning over a decade?

Tendulkar’s back injury has suddenly made him look mortal. It may just be the chink bowlers may have waited to stop The Little Champion.

Kissa Kursi Ka

With the likelihood of Sachin Tendulkar adhering to medical advice to take period breaks from cricket, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would find itself in a ticklish position over the Indian team captaincy. Tendulkar may decide to rest for a series or even during a series — the latter case a probability should the series be decided in India’s favour. At such times, one may have to look at the vice-captain as a stop-gap arrangement.

That seems fine. But look at the probable scenario. Tendulkar may lead against heavyweights like Pakistan, Australia and South Africa and may end up losing a series. He may then be obliged to take rest for aseries against, say, Zimbabwe. The vice-captain may take over and help India to a whitewash. Comes another tough series and Tendulkar will be needed again. Back as captain, he may suffer another setback. The pressure — and embarrassment — he faces is left to imagination.

Difficult days ahead for Tendulkar and Indian cricket.