Not taking that walk yet

Sachin clarifies that he is not thinking of retirement but given the workload he has had so far, it may not be long before he picked and chose his matches

LONDON: Sachin Tendulkar’s impending retirement from one-day cricket turned out to be a storm in a tea cup — at least for the time being — though it provided fillip to the debate whether players should now be allowed to pick and choose their games considering the heavy workload on modern cricketers.

Reports emanating from Mumbai that India’s best-known cricketing export was to quit  the game either after Saturday’s final at Lord’s, or three months later at home after the series’ against Pakistan and Australia, had burnt the wires in newsrooms across the world. But by Thursday evening, the fire of speculation had been doused, more specifically after Tendulkar himself put out an official statement to a news agency.

For most of the day, Tendulkar remained incommunicado, allowing Indian cricket Board officials on the tour to react on his behalf to the story. “It’s all bunkum,’’ said manager and BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla in the morning. “We have in fact been celebrating the Oval victory and Sachin’s superb knock, there has been no other discussion.’’

By late afternoon, Tendulkar himself reaffirmed to an agency that “he was batting brilliantly, and retirement had not even crossed my mind. I am still enjoying the game very much and want to play as long as I can.’’ This will be music to the ears of BCCI officials, chary of losing their biggest brand ambassador, but just how long, of course, remains the moot question.

Enhanced workload on players, especially major stars like Tendulkar who would be picked for all forms of the game — what with the Twenty20 being added to the ODIs and Test matches in the calendar — has not only increased the chances of burn-outs, but also the threat of injury. More matches also mean more training and less recovery time between games and this is bound to affect senior players more than juniors.

Speculation over Tendulkar’s future, in fact, had been provoked by an interview he gave to newspapers here in which Tendulkar had admitted that “when you are 22 or 23, you recover a lot more quickly, but at 34 it’s not so easy.’’ Over the last couple of years, he has struggled with injuries and a bad attack of cramps towards the latter half of his sizzling 94 at the Oval only seemed to confirm this apprehension.

While most players, past and present, have decried the punishing schedule for players, everybody agrees that it is hardly likely that the number of matches will be reduced. The ICC is intent on spreading the sport further — even pushing for it to become an Olympic sport — and every member cricket board wanting to cash in on the recent surge in cricket’s popularity.

Opinion among aficionados is split on how players can cope with the problem. Former England opener Geoff Boycott believes that it depends on the individual’s mental make-up. “If you are enjoying the game, you can play every day,” he says. “I was 36 when I made my last comeback, and never felt fatigued. But yes, I had taken time off.’’

Given the extremely competitive environment of modern cricket, with scores of players jostling with each other for a place in the national team, taking time off may not be the most prudent course of action. But Ravi Shastri, former India captain, believes that key players could be compelled to ‘ration’ their appearances, and with some justification.

“You may have to pick and choose to prolong your career,’’ said Shastri. There are some who have already done this, by opting out of one day cricket (Anil Kumble, Inzamam-ul Haq, Steve Harmison to name a few) and remaining only with the longer variety. Both Steve Waugh and Shane Warne it might be remembered, though not of their own volition, played only Test cricket for the last three-four years of their careers.

What is likely to happen in the future is that players for the Tests, one-dayers and twenty20 matches may be drawn from a much larger pool. Specialists will come into play, especially in the slam-bang variety — unless, of course, it is someone like Sachin Tendulkar, who would be an automatic selection in any form of cricket.

Which brings the argument a full circle whether even he can cope with the rigours and pressures of so much cricket. Tendulkar has already opted out of the Twenty20 World Cup, and while he has made no commitment about his future in one-dayers, after 18 years on the road and hundreds of matches, his retirement is surely closer rather than later.

For the present, though, only the match at Lord’s on Saturday matters. An encore of his Oval performance would mark a spectacular finish to this tour and send story-seekers into a tizzy again, but for vastly different reasons.