Post-retirement, can we expect a more eloquent Sachin?

By Himanshu Shekhar

This has been a monumental week in India’s cricketing history. After 24-long years and 200 Tests, arguably, modern cricket’s greatest batsman is bidding adieu. It’s Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell time.  It is not just any other November in India. It is a week were emotions have just got the better off everyone, and, in the end, even the God could not hide it.  Nation cried with the man. 

It is definitely not an ordinary week for Indian cricket at large. Hardly anyone, who is remotely attached to cricket, is oblivious of the fact that the man who has conquered almost every batting record in the book will no longer be seen in active cricket. Tendulkar has decided to call it time, whether his fans have agreed to it or not is a different question.

Post November 16, 2013, Indian crickets’ most colossal story will only be about reflections from the past. Tendulkar, for many, was synonymous to cricket. His retirement is bound to create a huge void not just in the Indian batting order but in the hearts of millions of fans. MS Dhoni’s side might find a worthy replacement like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma but for fans it will take time to find an icon that charmed one and all with not only his strokes but his mannerism as well.

For all these years, every time he walked onto bat, it seemed that he was wearing an iron-jacket, shielding himself from the surroundings. His focus was only on one thing – the release of the ball from the bowler’s hand. Anything outside the field never bothered Tendulkar. He chose to reserve his opinions or comments for all these years on many issues. Can he afford to do it now?

At the risk of being repetitive, I would once again state that this is no ordinary week. Apart from the Little Master’s retirement, two more significant development happened which went largely noticed. Former captains and two of Tendulkar’s team-mate, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble opted to speak their mind on issues bothering cricket – corruption and governance.

These consequences are important. According to me, there has to be (a) substantial jail term for the offenders,” Dravid said during a discussion on ‘Ethics and Integrity in modern-day sport’, organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation. One can not recollect if anyone else of his contemporary cricketer has taken such a stance.

A day later, it was the turn of Anil Kumble. “My three-year stint, along with my colleague in the Indian team, Javagal Srinath, who is the secretary, taught me a few things, and I believe now that just as other areas of the game - like umpiring - administration too can benefit from having people who have played at the highest level,” Kumble said while delivering the MAK Pataudi lecture.

Perception about the Indian cricket is in serious question today. In fact, it has been for a long time now. The unwanted controversies surrounding the IPL have just added fuel to an already burning house. Not going too far back, the recent controversy surrounding the team’s tour to South Africa has put the governing body (BCCI) in bad light.

The BCCI maybe the best run administrative body financially, but is it the most well managed organisation when you compare it with other nations? Is BCCI the most respected body? Is it doing enough to raise cricket’s infrastructure at the grassroots? Is BCCI doing enough to bring transparency?

In coming months, we would like to know where Tendulkar stands on these pressing matters.

“Some perceptions have to be willed into reality. For years we thought we were a sporting nation, but we had little to show for it,” Kumble reminded the august gathering at Pataudi lecture.

We would like to see Tendulkar add all his weight and experience behind Indian cricket, maybe Indian sports. In many ways, this has been a significant week for Indian cricket.