Are we doing right with Sachin?

Contributed by Sumit Singh

Heard a lot about India's dismal performance in the world cup and more than that the voice against Sachin putting questions on his credentials and asking him to retire. In one of the article even read that Sachin should take the responsibility and announce his retirement so that it relieves the pressure from the other Team players after the team's show in Caribbean.

But one thing always keep haunting me, why for more than fifteen years, the country of a billion has been expecting only one men to bring victories and take blame for every loss. As far as I know there are eleven players in the Team. I remember during the 03 World Cup, everybody blamed his failure in the final. But nobody thought that India was in final just because of 673 runs scored by the little master. What were other players doing there? Were they not playing final?

When Sachin hits a century and India loses, mind you even in the case the match is gifted to the other team courtesy Duckworth-Lewis, then its quiet common to hear that he can't win the match for the country, but people are even happy with Dravid's 50 against Srilanka though for not a single time India looked like winning. Is Dravid lacking something in terms of experience?

Inzamam took the responsibility for his team's performance and left his captaincy, even announced retirement from one-day cricket. But in India we want to hear this from a player of the Team, not the Captain or the Coach. I would like to know when did Dravid won a match single-handed for India; the fact remains that he has just played to turn a complete disaster into a more respectable loss (just like he did against Lanka). Now read the routine of THE WALL that it follows in an ODI match "Whenever he arrives at crease the run rate required is around 4.5 to 5 runs per over usually. Then this 'wall' block all the runs and India's run rate starts climbing. In this pressure others start losing their wickets. After 7 or 8 down the 'wall' suddenly remembers that they are playing in an ODI not test. So he plays some shots, reaches to his 50 and then get out. On the way he already earns all the respects and claps that the WALL stood again." But where he stood?? He fell and made India to fall.

We won't like to blame the Captain and Coach, asking what a Coach can do if the team performs like this. But then why do we have a Coach? I guess most of the players were having a much better technique before the Chappel era, and the Coach was brought to improve the remaining flaws, but he introduced some new ones, whether it may be Sehwag, Pathan , Kaif or anyone. No wonder India is now 8th in the Ranking.

Most of the people will say that this is another article from a typical Sachin fan. I do accept that I have been his fan for last 15 years, but did he ever say that he was the very best; in fact we crowned him as the God. We always compare him with Laras, Pontings, the Waughs, Sir Viv Richards and even Sir Donald Bradman. Every time a player is at his peak, we start comparing Sachin with him, but why can't we find another Indian player who we can compare with them? Still remains a mystery.

I don't know he should retire or not because he knows more of him than us. But, I wish he didn't because that will be succumbing to the pressure created by the former cricketers (who stand no where to him) and the media. No matter what has happened, no matter how things go and no matter how much media shouts I will always salute the God of Indian Cricket, who made this game the passion of a billion hearts.