If batting is an art, then Master Sachin Tendulkar is Picasso

Former India coach Greg Chappell has compared Sachin Tendulkar to the likes of Picasso. Writing a column in a leading daily, the former Australian captain said: “If batting is an art then Sachin Tendulkar is the Picasso among batsmen. On that basis Bradman must have been Michelangelo.”

Chappell recalled that he watched Tendulkar first in the Sydney Test of 1992 and announced himself of rare ability and class then. He wrote: “My first memory of watching Sachin bat live was at the SCG on the India tour of Australia in 1991-92. Sachin made 148 not out in Shane Warne’s debut Test.

“Warne would have wondered if he was cut out for Test cricket. He only took one wicket, that of Ravi Shastri, in 45 overs of hard slog as Shastri made 206 and Tendulkar announced himself, in Australia at least, as a batsman of rare ability and class.

“Without wishing to denigrate Shastri’s fine performance, he looked like a mere house painter alongside the sublime artist as Tendulkar displayed a dazzling array of shots and a wonderful imagination as he crafted an innings of great beauty. He has played many more since then.”

“It is hard to imagine someone playing Test cricket at the age of 16. That he is still playing 23 years later and is arguably the best batsman in the team is even more remarkable. To think that he has carried the hopes and prayers of more than a billion people each time he bats sets him apart even from Bradman.”

Elsewhere, Sachin Tendulkar’s mother-in-law has said that her daughter was lucky to have married the iconic Indian cricketer.
“Sachin is a champion on and off the field. He is a great human being. He not only thinks about himself but wants to help others also,” Tendulkar’s mother-in-law Annabel Mehta said.
Tendulkar married Anjali in 1995.

Mehta considers herself lucky to have Tendulkar as son-in-law not only for his cricketing achievements but also for being the person that he is. “I am very lucky that Anjali got married to him. He has achieved many milestones in cricket but I have seen the hard work and dedication behind it,” she said.

She added that the family was eagerly awaiting his return from Bangladesh to celebrate the master’s latest milestone.
Meanwhile, Time magazine has said that Tendulkar has “earned the right to keep going, to keep achieving”.

Joining the debate whether Tendulkar should retire now or not, Time said: “Having borne the weight of his nation’s dreams for so long, and with such uncomplaining grace, Tendulkar has earned the right to keep going, to keep achieving. Don’t encumber him now with speculation of retirement. Let Sachin play.” he said. DNA