Ravi Shastri opens up on burden of expectations faced by Sachin Tendulkar
When Sachin Tendulkar first started playing, cricket was a completely different scenario as compared to modern-day cricket. In 1989, Indian cricketers were forbidden if they failed, without being held accountable. Glaring eyes didn’t exist back then. Before Tendulkar, many regarded cricket as only a sport rather than a fierce passion.
It underwent a significant alteration in the first decade of Tendulkar’s career. As Tendulkar piled up batting records, he brought India together as a nation and developed over time to become the greatest batter of his generation. He was one of the major reasons why people in India started following the sport rigorously.
But like many others, Tendulkar too had his share of ups and downs in his career. Injuries are part and parcel of the game, but Tendulkar also dealt the pressure of captaincy. After facing an exit in five World Cups, Tendulkar finally managed to emerge as the champion in his sixth World Cup when MS Dhoni led the Indian team to a victory in 2011.
But former India cricketer Ravi Shastri opined that no pressure was as intense as the burden of expectations that Tendulkar faced. While speaking on ABC Australia’s documentary ‘Bradman and Tendulkar – the untold story of two of cricket’s giants’, Shastri said:
“Every time he went out, you know, the entire nation would sit up and watch. When is he going to get a hundred? They treated it as his failure if he didn’t. I know he might have felt very lonely at times. When you reach those heights, it can be a very lonely place to be because you are the only one there who understands what’s happening.”
I saw greatness from 22 yards, felt that this guy was in a different league: Ravi Shastri
Tendulkar, who started playing cricket at age 16 and was a “child prodigy”. Further, the master blaster made significant strides in his career. He his maiden Test century at Manchester in 1990 is remembered by one and all. Yet it wasn’t until his 1992 tour of Australia that everyone realised Tendulkar and cricket was a match made in heaven.
Even though Australia outplayed India, Tendulkar fought valiantly and left his impression on the game with twin centuries- 148 in Sydney and a thunderous 114 at the WACA in Perth, the world’s most bouncy field, where the ball was literally flying everywhere. Shastri, one of Tendulkar’s partners on that trip, soon realised that he was seeing something quite unique.
“That’s when I first saw greatness from 22 yards. It is one thing getting runs and another thing watching a kid who is 18 years of age dominate an Australian attack like the way he did. You felt that this guy was in a different league now. This is where he’s moving from Tendulkar towards Bradman,” he added.
