WILL SACHIN PERFORM AS PER GAVASKAR’S CLAIM? CHANCES ARE LESS (23rd Oct 2009, 0230 Hrs)

WILL SACHIN PERFORM AS PER GAVASKAR’S CLAIM? CHANCES ARE LESS (23rd Oct 2009, 0230 Hrs)

Whenever India wins and incidentally if it is courtesy Sachin’s performance, then all the other players’ contributions seems insignificant. I wonder often as if Cricket is not a team game but an individual sport. Strange and funny, don’t you think so? However, when Sachin doesn’t perform and India loses the match or series, then the Captain Dhoni is blamed and so are the others except him. WHY? Why there is a double standard in stating the fact? Why the media doesn’t point fingers on Sachin’s flaws and failures?

Now even before the ODI series has started, according to Little Master Sunil Gavaskar, the series is ‘Sachin Vs Australia’… what an exaggeration? It is such a pity that the media has taken the bait of Sachin’s PR activities. I will definitely wait to see, what Sunil Gavaskar will say after the series and especially what if India will lose to Australia… It is a pity that a great player like Gavaskar has stooped so low to highlight only Sachin ignoring the other ten Indian players. Gavaskar’s statements and debate on news channel also means that Dhoni and others players are insignificant if India wins… has Gavaskar lost his ‘Common Sense’ and ‘Intelligence’ to state such a statement? Cricket is not an athletic event that an individual wins a medal on individual merit like Hussain Bolt does… but it is a TEAM game consisting of 11 talented players.

Where was Gavaskar when Sachin made just 8 runs in the recent Champions Trophy and made Indian team to hang their faces in shame after achieving the No.1 spot for a day? Apart from Sachin’s dismissal performance batsmen like Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan and Virat Kohli were also to be blamed, but Dhoni blamed the bowlers instead! Strange because when your top batsman (Sachin) fails to score, the Indian Captain doesn’t even dare to point a finger at Sachin while blaming the other nine players, WHY? Well, I remember, in one of the post match win conference (in which Sachin was not playing), Dhoni was very vocal to say bluntly – ‘Indian team doesn’t depend any more on one particular hero (indicating Sachin) to win matches.”

No doubt that Sachin is a great player but he is 20 years older now since he made his debut and over the years, every bowler has eyed his recent weakness to overpower him. In the recent Champions Trophy, he seemed so off-mark against the Pakistani bowlers and the way he gave that catch in the slip, made him look like a novice. Gavaskar has surely shot his loud mouth and chances are that he will have to eat his words after the series. However, one doesn’t know the real reason as to why he said – ‘The series is Sachin Vs Australia’? Maybe, it is for the Bookies so that they can place high bets on Sachin’s performance and both the little masters can gain and pocket those extra crores… well who knows? We will have to wait and see!