The Cricket Thread

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

....provided he is not a liability to the team and is scoring runs.

He would be the last person to ever go after a record.
We are talking about somebody who has shouldered the whole of Indian team right from early 90s to late 2000s.

Let the man retire on his terms and his rules, atleast the game owes him that much.

A 100 hundred is not going to make any difference to his career stat (he has 17 dismissals in 90s alone)

All it would take is Just one 100 to put him right back where he belong.

I agree, Kohli is 23 years and already has 10 centuries to his credit from 80 odd matches, during 96' WC Sach was 23 yrs and he had the whole team riding on him, Can kohli or any other player every emulate that . NO..

I may be ranting, and it really hurts me when people put down a legend just because he had a couple of bad series.


He would never be a liability to the team, even at the age of 38 xxx, i rate him the 3rd best fielder in Indian line up

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

The only worry for me here is what happens if Sachin ends up like Kapil Dev trying to get to his record ? That would be the most sad day in the history of Indian cricket. I wouldn't want to see another champion player play like that !

I guess he knows better what he is going through but the very fact that he agreed to play the ODI's after almost retiring from them shows that 100 th one is bothering him somewhere in the mind.

It's time to think with the heart Sachin, not the head !

As I said, look at other greats in other similar games. Lets take Baseball. The title of the greatest baseball player ever is bestowed on one Babe Ruth. Find out till what age he played. Another great player was Ty Cobb. Find out about his career. Lets take Football I game I follow the most nowdays. Its pretty physical game (much much more than Cricket). There are examples of top players who played quite late (Maldini played till he was 41 I guess). Then there was Sir Stanley Matthews who played till 50 (and actively in lower divisions till he was 70!!!)

I dont think age should be a criteria for a player to call it over. If you are talking about performances, then there are fair few in the current side who are more deserving of the drop (Shehwag to name one, Laxman, Raina, Dhoni etc are others). Its disappointing to see people beat the age stick when it comes to Sachin.

The game of cricket will be the biggest loser as and when Sachin retires. Currently there is a huge deficit of world class players, more so real charismatic players who cut across nationalities, the so called superstars. Pak have zero such players, WI have zero, Eng have zero, SL have zero, Aus have zero (I am talking about players like Sachin, Lara, Ponting, Warne, Imran, Wasim etc). Who is going to take Cricket ahead?? Without its superstars the game is going to fade.

[Daewood]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Who is going to take Cricket ahead?? Without its superstars the game is going to fade.

Isn't Dhoni a bigger superstar than Sachin, as on today?
I know there is no definitive yardstick to measure who is a bigger superstar,
but the price marketeers/ advertisers are willing to place on a celebrity is a fair indication.

If Sachin is the Bradman of this generation, then Dhoni is the Imran Khan of this generation.
Superstars will always be created as long as the game survives.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

And please stop this 99 or 100 century thing, this is all media created hype.

Sachin has 51 test centuries and 48 in ODIs. If you really want to play with numbers and create unnecessary hype then add his first class and list A centuries i.e. 78 centuries in first class and 59 centuries in List A. Now the total number is 236 Centuries. You want 100, he already has 236.

Guys please don't talk like media. Indian Media - It's a shame!

Well, the only thing that I can say is that

78 First Class Centuries = 51 Test Centuries + 27 Centuries in Domestic / 1st Class Matches
59 List A Centuries = 48 ODI Centuries + 11 Centuries in Domestic / 1st Class Matches

So our friend is stuck at 99, unfortunately

Buttttt........ If you really really want him to reach 100, you can count his maiden century in IPL

[lloydofcochin]

Originally Posted by Daewood

Isn't Dhoni a bigger superstar than Sachin, as on today?
I know there is no definitive yardstick to measure who is a bigger superstar,
but the price marketeers/ advertisers are willing to place on a celebrity is a fair indication.

If Sachin is the Bradman of this generation, then Dhoni is the Imran Khan of this generation.
Superstars will always be created as long as the game survives.

Now regarding the advertisers it is a demand supply thing

Dhoni for all his talent has proved his mettle only in ODI's & T20's. He has to grow up a lot in Test Cricket to reach that Champion level and unfortunately I don't see that happening.

How much ever our Indians try to put Sachin down he is revered & respected abroad in Aus, Eng & SA. They are more mature in appreciating sports & sportsmen and can easily separate Wheat from chaff.

The problem with most of our countrymen is that we analyse too much and too much analysis will surely lead to paralysis.

Originally Posted by Eddy

Well, the only thing that I can say is that

78 First Class Centuries = 51 Test Centuries + 27 Centuries in Domestic / 1st Class Matches
59 List A Centuries = 48 ODI Centuries + 11 Centuries in Domestic / 1st Class Matches

So our friend is stuck at 99, unfortunately

Buttttt........ If you really really want him to reach 100, you can count his maiden century in IPL

Eddy, I don't think that Sachin needs anyone to do that charity of counting his IPL ton to his list of hundreds.

I really fail to understand why people are out to get him? Jealousy perhaps?

[Eddy]

Absolutely - He is a great player; even much beyond the unbelievable statistics & records he has to his credit.

And it is unfair of us to expect him to retire, just because he is 39. Its his decision to play on, fair enough. It is upto the selectors as to how they see the future of the team. For us, its wait and watch till one of the two take a call.

[C300]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

Let the man retire on his terms and his rules, atleast the game owes him that much.

+1.
The 100th ton is a media hype. I never saw Sachin boasting about it. He hardly spoke with media during Eng/Aus tour.

IMO before calling for Sachin's head we need to first think about the flat track bullies in our team - Sehwaaag, Dhonut, Rainman and Jadeja (fail to understand his role in the team especially outside the subcontinent).
I will take Sachin over these players anyday outside sub-continent. I think 45 year old Sachin will be more productive than a 30 year old Jadeja

[lloydofcochin]

Finally another article from Harsha Bhogle which talks sense - Harsha Bhogle: Damn Tendulkar's 100th | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo

As I said earlier most of us Indians are yet to mature when it comes to appreciating Sports & Sportsmen

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

Let the man retire on his terms and his rules, atleast the game owes him that much.

Nobody is bigger than the game. Selectors decide who is in the team. Captain/coach decide who can play in the game that day. Players don't get to decide that.

I agree, Kohli is 23 years and already has 10 centuries to his credit from 80 odd matches, during 96' WC Sach was 23 yrs and he had the whole team riding on him, Can kohli or any other player every emulate that . NO..

96' WC team also had Azar, Kambli, Sidhu, Manjrekar, Ajay Jadeja & Prabhakar with his improved batting. I wouldn't call it weak team riding on just one player. By 96, Sachin had 7 years of ODI experience, while 23 yr Kohli has just 3 years. I am not saying who is greater. All I mean is Sachin is great player with excellent technique, suited for all forms of cricket but he is just one more member of the team.

Like somebody said, Sachin elusive 100th 100 is like a kid with 51 copper coins & 48 silver coin and waiting for some coin to make up 100 coins. BTW, Sachin's best chance in a year is today, against Bangladesh.

[Naturalist]

It is not about a Sachin fan or non-Sachin fan. Its about the team and national pride. Cricket is a team game. Sachin has done so much for cricket as a whole but now he is not pulling weight anymore.
There are alot of players who has superb batting technique playing at league, district and Ranji levels. Those players can only come into the side if older players give chance to them.
More and more people started to think that Sachin is selfish. It is hard to believe that this perception is incorrect.

[WindRide]

SRT is playing nowadays for his 100th 100 - straight as an arrow. No other noble intentions behind his continued presence in the team. People who dont get it, well, what can i say?

Graceful selectors have given the guy one more chance to reach that milestone - against a really pathetic "international" team, on playing conditions where bowlers pee in their pants.

And a person's inclusion in a cricket team must purely be based on his current form and usefulness to the team, not because he is "great" or because of his "amazing" statistics or because he "shouldered" the whole team, or any such yardsticks.

And SRT definitely should not be treated differently and "allowed to retire" whenever he pleases. A place in the national team is not his ancestral property that he can waltz in, park his behind on a cushion and put both feet up. If he no longer contributes to the team's cause, he should be shown the door. The way the Aussies ruthlessly do it. No one is allowed to "hang around".

[joslicx]

Windride
How can you criticize Sachin for our selectors not having the audacity to drop him? The guy is chosen to play and so he is playing. What is the problem in that? If he is playing so bad as you and some others are suggesting then why doesn't the captain/coach/selectors dump him?

I will tell you why. He is the easiest scapegoat for all of them.

If scoring 100 against bangladesh was so easy why can't every batsman do that???

[Durango Dude]

SRT gets his 100th 100 vs Bangladesh today. So, now what?

[adg_andy]

as chetan bhagat tweets : 100 * 100 = 1.2bn sleep in peace. Congrats to sachin! kudos to the man...peace at last!!

[mayankjha1806]

@Windride, we can never be like Aussies, because we respect folks who have delivered in the past and support them when they are passing through a rough patch.

Just a few months back we won the World cup and in that tournament no one was talking about SRT retirement. A few bad series and the talk is again on.

All i can say is, this talk will never end until he retires. Its time for him to show stuff on the field and get kill the retirement talks as he always had done in the past, only time will tell.