on why sachin should open... only...

shared by straight point on Thursday, November 05, 2009

you read everywhere there has been this persistent debate about where sachin should bat... whether he should open... the position for which his love is known to everybody... or he should bat in middle order... there there is debate here too on whether he should bat at no.3 or further down the order...

yours truly too on more than one occasions have argued that he should bat in middle order given his experience... but last night i re-visited my argument  and come out with conclusion that he is best suited to the opening now...

before you blame me for two things... first what's new in it... and secondly for changing my stance... let me defend myself... thanks...

most of us still perceive sachin tendulkar as the 'sachin' he used to be... but the thing is he is not... sachin of today at best is an earnest batsman who uses his experience and skills the way his body allows it to be... the reflections are getting decidedly slow... and that's why you see opposition teams have started coming up with strategies to ball wide and full to him... to make him stretch even further... the balls which he used to dispatch to boundary even in his sleep finds fielders now... he is also getting slow with age so you can not expect him to run between wickets the way he used to do... the very demand of playing in middle overs when boundaries don't come as frequently as say in power plays...

this leaves only one spot for him in the team... that is to open... but with a twist...

sachin seems to have decided his role even before the start of this series and is religiously sticking to it... the role of a 'dravid'... to play through the innings... to accumulate runs... and that's why we are seeing him play the way he is playing in this series...

there used to be the time when india used to depended on him a lot... many used to switch the tv off when he got out... but today the scenario is altogether different... the team is full of match winners... who on their day can win on their own... and although they still look upto him... but in different way altogether...

its time to carry his legacy forward and let jatman don some responsibility which he is perfectly capable of without losing much sheen the way he plays... this could just be the gift team india can give to sachin for completing 20 intense international cricketing years of carrying the hope of billion fans on his shoulders without every complaining...

its the time sachin reap on the freedom this team provides him...  its the time to liberate himself off all the burdens he used to carry on his shoulders... its time to let him play as freely as he wanted to but could not... its time to let him enjoy in the middle without much botheration...

suddenly sachin will find that the 'touch' is also coming back with the enjoyment and we might just be able to see the old sachin the bowlers used to fear of... its time to go back to his youth days when there were seniors who used to bat around him and he was asked to open to destroy the bowlers confidence and was given the license to go for the kill...

i hope he completes the cycle which has been longing for sometime to complete...

let bowlers around world hear some much needed (sa)chin music... the sound of balls whizzing pass straight close to their ears...

go unwind yourself sachin... unleash yourself the way it meant to be...

13 comments:

Som said...

SP, in Mohali, POnting was asked if Tendulkar's dubious dismissal was the turning point. Punter said "No, because he was not dominating us. These days he's more of a run-accumulator." Later, MSD was also asked the logic behind persisting with T'kar the opener and Dhoni also said they needed T'kar since he was a run-accumulator.

straight point said...

same player different perspectives...

i wonder till when we keep on handing him responsibility... why not these grandchildren let grandpa enjoy... :)

Maithreyi said...

Let me get this straight: a "run-accumulator" should have the wherewithal to endure long periods of batting, right? Run between the wickets swiftly, endure tough weather, all that jazz? I thought Sachin wasn't physically capable of that anymore? And when Dhoni seems to have taken on that mantle - and quite successfully - why put the label on Sachin?

Also, keeping with "run-accumulator" theory, why should Sachin be so as an opener? He can do the job just as well at No. 3. Last match precious little strike was given to Sehwag, frustration was building and whatever pressure Sehwag's initial assault put on the Aussie bowlers was quickly dispersed.

I agree that once Sachin finds his touch, he's virtually unstoppable, but if as you say he's come into the series with such a limiting mind-set, he's less likely to let himself go and regain that touch, right?

IMHO, now that Gauti is there, it's time to unleash VirunGauti on the Aussies. Statistically and strategically it has almost always worked well for the Indians.

However, despite everything, I'm still holding out for a big Sachin century today. I guess some things are just indelibly ingrained into our psyche. :)

straight point said...

exactly maithreyi... why to put label on him at this stage of career...

but until unless you are expecting opening combo of vs/gg wont work and what difference is opening at no. 3... it does makes difference...

the momentum of power plays carriers sachin to the middle of innings but if he will have to start it coming in say after 10-15 overs... that will be very demanding on his fragile body to do the dirty work on consistent basis...

btw welcome to the blog... hope you will keep dropping by... :)

Maithreyi said...

Actually, what I meant was, whichever position Sachin came in, his "fragile body" would have to do some "dirty work". Why utilise, or rather waste, the powerplays by settling in for the long haul - a haul he can't even last? Better he come in with a strong platform set, right?

Of course, if the VirunGauti partnership is broken early, it won't make a lick o' difference, but still.

straight point said...

its far easier when you have only two fielders outside the 30 yards in first 10 and three in later bowling power play... besides gambhir or today's sachin's strike rates are very similar... besides gambhir is perfectly capable of carrying on with the innings... fitness wise... on consistent basis...

its only if team asks sachin to play his usual attacking game rather than asking him to play accumulator... or he himself decides to do it and there is no reason he should not... he can be best utilised up there specially with the lineup we have...

Megha said...

So basically Sachin is allowed to be a Dravid because poor him has grown old...he can't run that much anymore...the team should function around him...let him open because he wants to, rest him for a series or too when he wants to...he can hog the strike and not allow people like Sehwag and Gambhir to have a go at the bowling (for e.g. Mohali or gasp..currently in Hyd)...but heaven forbid should Dravid do something like that?

Megha said...

obv, Sachin took offense to what I said and is racing away now...making me look foolish....

BUT THIS IS NOT OVER, SACHIN!!

Wasim said...

SP

The #3 batsman is usually the most experienced and often the best batsman in a side. My point was that Gambhir and Sehwag had good chemistry between them and they both complimented each others game and India was doing fine when these two were opening so why fix something which was not broken.

But anyways Tendulkar "the magnificient" has answered with his bat to all his criticis especially to those who accuse him for not winning enough matches for India. The sorry looking scorecard for the rest of the team barring Raina answers that question.

The master may have become old but his class is beyond compare.

straight point said...

its hard to say anything coz i am still in awe of innings he played last night... but i will try megha...

not only here i on various occasions have said that whether its a team management decision to make him play the role of accumulator or he himself has decided... he should play freely as we have just witnessed that he can... the 350 score provided him the opportunity to go out there and play freely... and that's what i wanted to say...

i hope he carries the same attitude for the future games too... :)

straight point said...

yes wasim he not only showed the class to bachchaas like sehwag who are happy and content with 30s 40s they make...

but to ask him do this on consistent basis is asking too much from the old man... so i would say let him enjoy and other should learn from the innings and take it from there...

Francois said...

Interesting post - I'm not sure what to think.

straight point said...

welcome francois...

i can wait... :)

about me...

BCC!straight point (sp) is restless... relentless... but a fun loving guy... likes to live life to fullest... trying to discover himself through cricket... welcome to this little world of his...

sp is also a bored member at BCC!

sp tweets

     


    © straight points
    straight points by sp is licensed under a creative commons attribution noncommercial-no derivative works 2.5 india license. based on a work at straightpoints.blogspot.com
    this blog takes no responsibility for statements posted by participants

    this blog is best viewed with Mozilla FireFox at a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels
    thanks for the visit!!