Sachin: one of my four favourites

The early environment in which Sachin learnt his skills must have been excellent. His instincts are outstanding.

I have been lucky enough to see all of the best batsmen of the past 50 years. Some of those whom I rate in the very top bracket of the elite group of players in that time would be Peter May, Ken Barrington, Neil Harvey, Garfield Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Graeme Pollock, Sunil Gavaskar, Clive Lloyd, Barry Richards, Doug Walters, Viv Richards, Javed Miandad, Gordon Greenidge, Ian Chappell, Allan Border, the Waughs, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Brian Lara and Tendulkar.

Each one of these players had slightly different methods and styles but each had great instincts. If I had to pick the best of all of these I would choose Sobers, closely followed by Pollock, Viv Richards and Tendulkar in no particular order. They all possessed ‘genius’ quality and could win matches on their own. Each hit the ball with incredible power.

Sobers’ record has stood the test of time for he made runs under all conditions against all types of bowling. Tendulkar’s record is also exceptional and he has played well against quality pace and spin. His clashes with Shane Warne in recent times, especially the past two Australian tours of India, have provided some excellent theatre.

I have also seen him take on Saqlain (Mushtaq) and (Muttiah) Murilitharan in Sharjah and Sri Lanka, respectively, and he has taken them on and come out on top nearly every time. Tendulkar’s record in the games India must win is excellent and stamps him as a true champion.

His footwork and brute force are awesome to see and his range of strokeplay makes him the most awkward of customers against whom to bowl. I love to watch him bat because he has two or three options to the same delivery and he is just as likely to hit the best balls for four, or six.

If there were a weakness in his armoury some would say it is against quality fast bowling on the bouncy wickets of Australia. If that is true it doesn’t make him Robinson Crusoe! All good players have been troubled by quality fast bowling on bouncy wickets at one time or another.

As the pre-eminent batsman of his time, Tendulkar is always targeted by the opposition and has been tested on innumerable occasions. He has come out on top more often than not and his successes have usually carried India’s fortunes with them.

India’s fortunes in the remainder of this World Cup campaign will no doubt parallel the vicissitudes of the ‘Little Master’s’ fortunes. (PTI)