Brian Lara was an astonishingly skilled sportsman and like Sachin Tendulkar took on the opposition and vanquished it with extraordinary strokeplay.
But occasionally Lara's mind would wander away into a dangerous zone and he could be his own enemy. In the art of batsmanship, they were equals; indeed Lara sometimes took the art to more sublime levels, but it was Tendulkar's composure that gave him greater consistency. --
Thus goes an 2009 article published in 'India Today' written by commentator Harsha Bhogle.
Bhogle also writes:
"... You can trawl through his (Sachin's) statistics but the fact that he has put body and mind together and existed as one of the brightest in our pantheon for 20 years is, quite simply, staggering."
The article further states --- "It means he has competed against the best in the world across different eras; against grizzly pros when he was a kid and brash, irreverent young men now; he has played on feverishly seaming pitches and on raging turners, on cold, cloudy days and blazingly hot ones;
"at home surrounded by family and fans and away amidst loneliness; when the body is obeying all commands and when pain and fatigue bring you to your knees.
"And he (Sachin) hasn't just survived, he's left his imprint on every situation.
"It is a colossal achievement. On his first tour of England he batted against Eddie Hemmings who had made his first class debut seven years before Tendulkar was born.
He now shares a dressing room with kids who were having their umbilical cord cut when he was scoring his first century."
"Beneath the child-like enthusiasm though lies a man who knows his game better than almost anybody else.
Tendulkar thinks very deeply about the game, his mind simplifying its nuances so astonishingly as to enable him to walk out to bat with his mind absolutely calm and ready; so that he faces neither the bowler, nor the conditions but merely the ball on its way to him.
Tendulkar is very much an instinct player but it is an instinct that has been sharpened by intense preparation," writes Bhogle.
On an important facet of his career, Bhogle says:
"Inevitably the captaincy would come to him; not once but twice and even a third had he so willed.
It remains a strange aberration in his (Sachin's) career, crystal in a crown of diamonds.
Unlike everything else in the game, even leg break bowling, captaincy never seemed to sit lightly on him."
In interview to the magazine (published Nov 13, 2009) -
Interview Link
Sachin's response was interesting.
Q. November will become the 20th year in international cricket for you. Only Gary Sobers has played non-stop international cricket for that long a period. Do you remember it all? Does it feel that long?
Sachin responded:
I feel that time definitely flies. I remember on my first tour Kapil Dev challenged me, he said 'you play for ten years.'
It was a healthy bet which I won. When I completed ten years, Kapil Dev was the coach so I caught him and said I've won our bet.
I'm glad today I'm almost very close to doubling that.
I remember things clearly, even though time has flown. I remember most of my dismissals and I don't think any cricketer forgets that...I remember the great shots too.
****
The Last para here is more about life ....
Bhogle wrote:
" .... he is like Sir Garfield Sobers, the only other man to play international cricket for 20 years. Sobers too played the game for the thrill it afforded him.
Is that the secret of longevity then? To enjoy the ride? Every morning?"
(Text is based on India Today articles)
ends
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