Why Sachin Tendulkar is playing IPL but not World T20

By CricAges Visitor Apan Singhal, Delhi.
The views expressed in this column are that of the visitor. CricAges.com doesn’t hold responsible for its content.

There has been a constant debate as to why Sachin is not playing World T20 for his country despite being in such a great form in all forms of the game and instead choosing to play in more hectic and demanding Indian Premiere League for a region based franchisee. While there has always been allegations against Sachin Tendulkar the player/team-man/captain from his critics and sometimes his own fans but I never felt the need to defend him because I always knew Sachin will speak for himself through his bat. But the present situation is pretty different where it’s his great performance with the bat that has been the cause of questions being raised against him. It is being said that the kind of form Sachin is in at present he can definitely improve India’s chances at the World T20. Also that if fitness is the reason then why he is playing IPL which is more demanding. First of all fitness is not the reason for Sachin not playing International T20. The decision to not play international T20 was taken three years back and since then Sachin has never played any International T20 even if it’s just one match. At that time it was not because he was not fit/good enough to play International T20. Nobody questioned him then because T20 was a new and supposedly casual format. Anyways Indian team without Sachin and other seniors won T20 World Cup. Suddenly T20 became huge. People said that it was better that the older guys did not play T20 and its a young man’s game. Indeed nothing succeeds like success. Next time not many demanded that Sachin plays as last time the team had won the cup without him. This time Indian team could not even qualify for the Semi-Finals losing every match in the Super-eight stage. Coming to the present edition people want Sachin to play World T20 and these are mostly the same people who were better without him in the first two editions. If seen from Sachin’s perspective the reasons to play/not play International T20 has not changed throughout any World T20 edition. It’s just people’s attitude that has changed. Sachin has never played cricket to prove anything to anybody. He plays cricket because he enjoys playing cricket and it has always been like that and will always be. He has categorically said that he would not play cricket for even one extra day the day he feels that he is not giving his 100%. Players like Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist also are not playing International T20 despite performing so well in IPL and without doubt they can increase Australia’s chances of winning World T20 trophy but their intentions are never questioned. But we have a problem. We do not understand sportsmanship. What matters is misjudged patriotism which only comes alive for cricket and not where it matters.

Certain people have a problem with him playing in IPL as he is not representing his country but a region based franchisee. The international players and many Indian players who play in IPL are not even playing for their regions but still they give all their effort and nobody can question that simply because cricket is a sport and in any sport it does not matter what is your nationality/religion/language, the only thing that matters is the team. Any legendary sportsman in the world has always given his/her 100% no matter which team he/she plays for. Excellence and Passion are matters of attitude and not decision. Sachin Tendulkar has always given his all to the game whether he was/is playing for Shardashram School/Yorkshire/Mumbai/Mumbai Indians/Team India or his gully team. Despite that playing for the country is most motivating for any player including Sachin but since there is no international ODI/Test tournament soon after IPL for which Sachin can injure/fatigue himself there is no possible risk with him playing in IPL. Sachin has always given the team his first priority. So when he felt that he was not the best man to captain the Indian team he voluntarily gave up his captainship despite that his contributions as a strategist has never been less important than that of the captain. With Mumbai Indians in the first edition he got an opportunity to contribute not only as a player but to lead a team not just as a captain but as a senior who knows the game better than anyone. He has been playing IPL with the same team for 3 years and he understands the dynamics of his team and the opponent teams. Now when suddenly people demand that he should play World T20 it cannot happen that way. Those who know Sachin know that for Sachin preparation for a tournament or an important match starts much before the actual game. Sachin’s hard work and efforts have always been overshadowed by his natural brilliance. The fact is that Sachin is not just the most gifted cricketer but the most hardworking and dedicated as well but its our human tendency to overlook the hard work and dedication of any successful person and attribute the success just to destiny/luck/natural abilities as an excuse of our not making it big. For any important tournament/match Sachin gives a lot of effort in making strategies to play against any team or a bowler and this is a long process. Sachin has been so brilliant as a player not only because of physical aspects but the often overlooked mental and psychological attributes as well.

There has been one very preposterous theory as to why Sachin has chosen to play IPL but not World T20 and that theory is the theory of Big M. It is being said that Sachin is playing IPL but not World T20 because he is being offered more money for IPL. Before anything else why do we need money. We cannot eat paper (no matter what quality) or be entertained just looking at our father of the nation or the RBI hologram. We need money because money is supposed to make people live their life more comfortably and securely. Sachin already has huge wealth which is more than enough for him and his family to lead any kind of lavish lifestyle throughout their lives which has come without him ever compromising his love for the game. Despite this his efforts for cricket are more than any other player regardless of age. Why does a billionaire play cricket on the same ground bearing all the heat and pain. That billionaire runs and dives when required with the enthusiasm of a 12 year old despite him not having a gymnast’s body. For money? As for security it can be anybody’s guess that how a player like Sachin is more secure whether playing in so many venues around the world hoping frequently from one place to another playing in open stadiums in any country(far lesser players have expressed fear or even pulled back from important games for security concerns) or taking voluntary r*********(sorry I can’t use that word with Sachin in the same sentence) and enjoying his incredible wealth sitting comfortably in his home amidst the best security. In any case what is the money being offered to him for playing in IPL. 5 crores/maybe more. Can Sachin not earn this money with less than 1% of the effort through endorsements? Why does he need to put so much of effort in playing such demanding cricket, preparing the hardest for it, strategising for the matches and bearing all the brickbats? When he makes that incredible dive near the boundary to just save a single is he just being motivated by the shiny green paper! As a child when he saw Kapil Dev lifting that trophy for India was he motivated to play cricket because of the money which Kapil Dev would have earned! No one can deny how much Tendulkar enjoys winning. Check any match which his team won and notice the whole team’s expressions. Who is the guy who seems the happiest and celebrates it like a child? Are those celebrations because he would get money for winning the match! Why was he crying after the match against Pakistan in Chennai in 1999 when he could not take his team to win despite him contributing 136 runs and almost taking his team to near-win at a stage when the victory seemed almost impossible inspite of him having a back injury? Was it because he would be getting lesser money as part of the losing team or because he would be getting lesser money from the endorsers! In any sport, art or even business anybody who is motivated more by money or fame rather than passion and dedication can succeed but never excel. Sachin Tendulkar plays cricket because he enjoys playing cricket and for no other reason. Period.

An even more ridiculous allegation against Sachin has been that he played IPL finals despite the injury because of money and he would have not done the same for an ODI/Test Match. Firstly when and why does a player do not play because of an injury. A player does not play because of injury because he may not be able to contribute to the team with the injury more than the replacement player and more importantly the injury has chances of getting aggravated causing the future prospects of the player in risk and in turn the team losing a player so keeping in mind the long term effect, a player does not play. In Sachin’s case everyone knows the value of Sachin playing in a match as important as IPL finals when the whole team had made so many efforts to reach there. Its not just about his effect on the team as a player but the impact his presence makes to the team and more so when he is leading the team. Though because of the injury he was not able to play to his utmost potential but despite that he was the leading scorer for his team scoring 48 runs off 45 balls. Him playing had improved the prospects of the team winning the IPL trophy many times. Tendulkar is not supposed to play any official cricket for atleast one month so the point of playing it safe in order to save future prospects of him playing any major series by not playing the match stands invalid. The kind of injury he had must obviously have been monitored by the Physio who would have told him about the possible risks. It was Tendulkar who had to bear the pain and despite that he gave his 100% on field like always when the lesser players would have taken it easier. So the allegation was that he was being offered big money that is why he was playing the IPL finals despite the injury. Breaking News: It does not work that way. The players in IPL are offered money for a full season(s) and not a single match and in any case the money offered to play a match cannot be big enough that a big player will just play for that despite an injury. And however hard I try I can’t imagine Nita Ambani coming to Sachin and telling him that if he plays the final she will make him richer considerably.

When he was making big scores but despite that the team lost they said he is not a match winner. When he was not making big scores (by his standards) they said he should stop playing cricket and instead give chance to youngsters. When he was making centuries they said he is playing for personal records. When he started making big scores but was getting out on 90′s frequently (despite the team winning on most occasions) they said that he is not making centuries. When he started making centuries but got out just after that they said that he could not carry it any longer. When he scored a 175 off 141 balls (target being 351 off 300 balls) and the team lost they said that he could not take the team to win. When he scored the highest score in the ODI format and his team won and when he scored 4 consecutive centuries in tests and his team won 3 of those matches and when he is the highest scorer of runs at a great strike rate while leading his team to dominate in a high level T20 tournament they say he should be playing International T20 when he has opted not to. Conclusion: They kept saying but it did not matter to him and he kept playing and conquering because he was not doing it to prove anything but just because he enjoyed playing. Still they’ll always keep saying.

PS: In the hindsight I feel that my writing this article was futile since for those who bother to find out what real Sachin is all about would never doubt his intentions of playing cricket and as for others their doubts will never end. But still I don’t regret putting all the efforts and time for writing, researching, analysing my thoughts and questioning them for this article since I enjoyed writing it which is most important. Does my previous sentence sound like one lame attempt to draw parallels between myself and Great Sachin Tendulkar. So be it.

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