Drop Sachin, save Sachin

There is only one thing that could have kept SachinTendulkar’s golden run at bay. After one of the most entertaining 15 yearsin the game, Tendlya is plagued by injuries and the missed Tsunami aid matchmight not be just an aberration. If Dr Chris Bradshaw, the doctorwho treated Sachin for tennis elbow in London, is to be believed the MasterBlaster will for some time have to sit out matches and only play sporadically.With 34 Test hundreds and 37 tons in the one-dayers, Sachin hasaccomplished what an entire batting lineup would be proud of but Sachin ishungry for more and for him to hang up his boots would be like asking AmitabhBachchan to stop doing commercials!There was a time when sportseditors playing on Sachin’s back injury, came out with headlines like:If Sachin continues to miss out matches and India’s abysmalperformance in the one-dayers continues, the headline might just read: Havingsaid that, modern day cricket is so demanding that batsmen like fast bowlersalso need breaks. It is true that batsmen do not have to run up 20 yards insweltering heat and deal with stress fractures, rotator –cuff injuries andknee injuries like the bowlers but for batsmen like Sachin, who are always busyout in the middle, the strain is no less.And Sachin’s is notan isolated case. The crowded cricket calendar has seen Brian Lara struggle witha prolonged hamstring injury, the now retired Steve Waugh had a groin problemand Michael Atherton and Saeed Anwar suffered back problems. But sitting out iseasier said than done. In Indian cricket, with so much at stake,batsmen are not keen to vacate and have to be at times evicted for their owngood. Let us not forget that the stars in Indian cricket are just not playersbut mini-conglomerates with millions of rupees riding upon their presence in themiddle.The question then to be asked is whether Tendulkar should besaved for the important matches and not played in innocuous matches withBangladesh, Zimbabwe or Kenya? Should Indian selectors launch the ‘SaveSachin’ project and play India’s trump card only in bigclashes?Ironically, Sachin himself would be the most difficult toconvince. For someone who has been in the thick of things for 15 years it isdifficult to quench the insatiable appetite for runs and the ability to pitch inwith bowling or fielding in the outfield.On the flip side, aninjured back has forced Sachin to stop playing the inside-out heave over thecovers which fetched him so many runs. The stocky Sachin has had creaks all overhis body, right from back spasms to toe pain to finger injuries and now lateralepicondylitis, commonly known as the tennis elbow. The first injurythat Sachin sustained was in 1998 when he had back pain when playing at Chennaiagainst Pakistan. This injury cost Sachin nine one-day matches. In 2000, Sachinwas troubled by an ankle injury in Zimbabwe. In New Zealand the Master Blastersprained his right ankle and missed out on four matches. Then again inBangladesh, Sachin missed five one-dayers due to a finger injury.Fortunately, for Sachin, a tennis elbow is not a crippling injurybut it requires adequate rest. It would be in India’s interest to rest thegreat player and the man himself should realise that his stint in the middle canonly continue if he spaces himself.In spite of too much of cricket,Sachin also faces the pressure of performing every times he walks in. Indiamight have a Dravid, Sehwag and a Ganguly but at the end of the day, all ofIndia still expects Sachin to win the match on his own. The more implicitpressure is by the sponsors and the Mr Moneybags that get multi-crore dealssigned.It is true that Indian cricket would not be the same withoutthe genius of Sachin in the game. This naturally gifted cricketer is a joy towatch and the way he even fields the ball or bowls six different deliveries inthe same over has a stamp of class and magic about it. But thenSachin is a national treasure and also human. The need of the hour is for theselectors and Sachin himself to space out his career, so that more records canbe broken and the world of cricket continues to be enthralled with theperformances of a master sportsman.