“Unfair to expect more from Sachin”
espnstar.com’s Rajarshi Gupta spoke to former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, who did not want to burden Sachin Tendulkar with any more expectations.
Two decades of international cricket, the most international hundreds by any batsman, nearly 30,000 international runs and the Little Master is still going strong.
Expectations continue to rise and everyone from former cricketers to millions of fans across India keep raising the bar for Sachin Tendulkar.
However, Manjrekar reckons his former India teammate should be allowed to enjoy the game after having achieved so much.
"I don't want to state any of my personal expectations because I don't want to burden him. It is unfair to expect anything more from Sachin after all. I just want him to enjoy the game as much as he can.
Watch MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting's comments after Sachin crossed the 17,000 run mark in ODIs
Sachin loves to hit the cricket ball hard and that he is what he should go on doing."
India's cricketing legacy was to change forever when 20 years ago; a young boy from Mumbai took the field against a strong Pakistani unit in their own den.
Tendulkar was earmarked for greatness and Manjrekar had his eyes set.
"Actually, I was very fortunate that I saw his birth as an international cricketer and then see him grow in stature thereon.
The first time I saw him, there was a general acknowledgement amongst us cricketers - not just the masses and the fans- that what we were looking as what a child prodigy.
At the age of 14, he looked good enough to play first class cricket, at the age of 15 he excelled in domestic cricket and at 16, he was in the national team.
After a couple of months, when we were wondering if it was too early for Sachin at the big stage- in about six months, he was at home in international cricket. That's where he has been a rare cricketer."
An early initiation at the international stage followed by constant media spotlight meant enormous pressure on a 16 year old but Tendulkar went on to play two of his best innings in Manjrekar's books, even before he reached 20.
"To me the hundred in Perth in 1992 and the one in Wanderers in South Africa next year stand out. What was striking is that all of us other international batsmen found the challenge tough and the ease with which he got those tons is something that will remain with me forever. That was a confirmation of class."
Manjrekar also recalled a ‘double wicket' match played several years ago in Kolkata, where Tendulkar stood out with his class once again.
"Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli used to be the most famous double wicket pair at the time and they were up against Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar, who had made quiet a few runs but Tendulkar chased them down single-handedly"
Kapil and Prabhakar were at the peak of their bowling skills and I went to Anil Kumble and marvelled at Sachin's talent."
Right from the common man in the stands to an eager kid glued into his TV set to former players across the international community, there has been a general consensus on how humble Tendulkar has stayed despite his phenomenal growth as one of the greatest batsmen that ever lived.
Manjrekar, now a cricket pundit and commentator believes Sachin's family background has had a huge role to play.
"I think he is very lucky to come from the family that he does. The Tendulkar family is very-soft spoken, humble and very respectful. He has all the traits of the family which helped him handle his own stature and stardom."
Like all figures in the public domain, Tendulkar has had to face his share of criticism but Manjrekar believes that is part and parcel of a long career.
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"Familiarity breeds contempt. Tendulkar has been around for a long time and even Sunil Gavaskar had to face criticism. In fact, I think Gavaskar and Kapil had to face more of it than Tendulkar ever did.
He was the least amongst the cricketers to be criticised. Some of his predecessors, great predecessors were more criticised."
Manjrekar, one of the most well respected cricket experts in the world, was one of the few who raised some ‘critical' aspects.
"I was a little disturbed at one phase. I was a little concerned he had become a little negative at the mind. He was obsessed with trying not to fail instead of stamping his authority. Sachin wasn't that kind of a player for me.
In the last one or two years, however, he has seemed different. Tendulkar has been playing a lot more freely and he is not just a collector of runs, like he had turned out to be a few years back. Now he is playing his natural game. I just though Sachin had drifted away from his natural game then."
For 11 years since his debut, Tendulkar had to shoulder the responsibility of the entire batting order and it came as a surprise to Manjrekar that the legend did not open up more after the Gangulys and Dravids came into the team.
"From 1989 to 2000, I saw the best of Tendulkar. The way he batted and took up the entire responsibility of the team was amazing. After the emergence of Dravid, Ganguly and Sehwag, I expected him to bat a lot more freely but that did not happen."
Tendulkar often struggled to replicate his flair at the crease till he decided to break the shackles a couple of years back.
Tendulkar is back to playing like he did when he burst on to the scene 20 years ago on what was to be a historic day for Indian cricket day in Karachi in neighbouring Pakistan.
The legacy is not over yet.
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