Opinion Our great hype
Sachins 100th 100 should remain a statistic,not a national obsession
Finally,this week Sachin Tendulkars first coach Ramakant Achrekar would be watching cricket from his rocking chair without his favourite checked tweed cap at arms length. His daughter Kalpana wouldnt have to routinely change the living room cushion covers before the players take field on match-day mornings. Sachin Tendulkar has taken a breather for the one-dayers against the West Indies,and so can the Achrekars.
For months now,they had been living under constant dread of their front door suddenly flying open and the media mass taking over their home. Sir and his daughter know that persistent reporters and pesky cameras can walk through walls. They are also aware that the only way they can prepare themselves for the onslaught is by not avoiding them and readying each time to become presentable.
In the early 1980s,Achrekar was known in the maidans as the coach with unending energy,who,on his Bajaj scooter,would ferry Tendulkar and other proteges to different games across Mumbai. Today,in his early 80s himself,Indias most famous coach needs a helping hand to get up and his trembling voice is barely audible. But periodically he wears the tweed cap for the cameras when he is asked to narrate those Bajaj scooter tales. He did it when his famous ward completed 20 years and these days a few nervous scribes are asking him to parrot those lines again.
Not everybody is sure that they could cut through the media maze on the day Tendulkar finally scores his 100th international 100,so canning the coachs bytes is part of the nervous scribes plan. The more adventurous will wait since they would want the Bajaj scooter story in the background as Tendulkar raises his bat from the television screen.
The Tendulkar package will never be complete without the trembling old man wearing the tweed cap. No one dares to say,I have heard that before, when the story is about the boy with curly hair with phenomenal batting talent. Thats because we as a nation are suckers for Tendulkar tales as we are about celebrating his record,however bizarre.
We need an excuse to revisit Tendulkars old knocks. So we dont miss a chance to relive the mushy nostalgia of a 16-year-old making his Test debut. Earlier this year,at 38,Tendulkar lifted the World Cup and the dream career that many had predicted about two decades back was finally coming to an expectedly spectacular end. But fans didnt want the party to end. The World Cup was his on his sixth attempt,but post April 2,2011,fans were a little lost about what more they expected from Tendulkar. Thats when they decided to blur the lines between the games two formats and that began the most ridiculous anticipation of a non-event.
Since Tendulkar didnt play any ODIs after the World Cup,his subsequent Test innings became the countdown to 100. 99 to go, they said after Tendulkar had opened his account with a single. What was to be his 52nd Test hundred was now to be celebrated as his 100th international 100. He didnt even wear the same colours while scoring 49 of them but so what,since merging his Tests and ODI scores suited the nations hype machinery.
Suddenly,the other 21 players on field,or even the result of the Test,became irrelevant. During the final Test against the West Indies on his home turf last week,the frenzy touched a new low when Tendulkar was out on 94. Suggestions were floated at Wankhede that,in case India followed on,the Daddy 100 might become a reality.
Everyone has their own favourite cricketing slice,for some it is about numbers with multiple zeros and Tendulkar. Considering his success and longevity in the game,Tendulkar breaks a record just turning up for a game. The 100th 100 isnt a milestone but a mere trivia like so many others. Just last year while playing Sri Lanka in a Test series,he completed 10,000 runs in the subcontinent. Not just that,while scoring the first ODI double hundred in the history of the game,he completed 10,000 after crossing 30.
These are and should remain statistical nuggets. But when they become a nations obsession,the game ceases to be a team sport and old men are forced to kick-start Bajaj scooter tales.
sandeep.dwivedi@expressindia.com
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