Tendulkar in the league of a Pele or a Jordan

The ICC’s new rankings for one-day cricket are out, and Sachin Tendulkar is numero uno again.

But the Master Blaster will wear this accolade lightly. He’s been there, done that, and beyond a point, the `high’ of ratings and rankings, like of alcohol, have diminishing marginal utility.

Yet, in the context of India’s splendid triumph in the tri-series against Australia, and Tendulkar’s own contribution in the two finals, the No.1 ranking seems not only logical, but also the mot juste.

Had India been routed in the Tests, and lost the tri-series, this assessment would have had purely academic value; now it holds out promise of better times ahead for India cricket.

Skeptics and critics have raised their heads every now and then, only to be slain by Tendulkar’s magnum blade.

Indeed, there were many who believed that he might not be quite the same force on the recent, difficult tour against the best side in the world.

But they had not reckoned his resolve or his brilliance. He has rarely responded to criticism except by scoring runs, and therein lies his greatness as batsman and person.

Tendulkar’s form on the just-concluded tour suggests he has got a second wind. The quality of his batsmanship was majestic. The strokes and runs flowed with the same ease that had revealed his genius 15-18 years earlier.

The timing was superb right through, the gaps were found with amazing felicity, and some of the best deliveries hurled at him by the Aussies were spanked for boundaries.

Over the past ten weeks, Tendulkar batted as well as he has ever done in his career, and if the tempo of run-making was not quite in the same fast lane of yore, he looked perhaps in better control than ever before.

His hunger for runs, which many reckoned had been blunted, was still sharp, but perhaps more importantly, he looked relaxed and enjoying every minute of the battle in the middle.

Perhaps it has something to do with playing mentor to the younger members of the team, all of whom are so clearly in thrall of Tendulkar. This could have rejuvenated him, given him fresh momentum and purpose — not to mention a new challenge, for he would still like to be the best player in his own team too.

How pivotal Tendulkar has been to Indian cricket in the past needs no great explanation. No other cricketer has commanded the same kind of adulation, borne the same amount of pressure and scored so many runs and hundreds so consistently for so long.

It is a measure of his skill, stamina and competitiveness that in his 35th year, he has yet again been the team’s best batsman and highest scorer (in Tests, and second highest in ODIs).

Unarguably, Tendulkar is in the same league as a Pele or Michael Jordan — to name two — who have been not only benchmarks of sustained human excellence, but have also carried the burden of hope of their respective countries. That puts Tendulkar on a pedestal that goes beyond any ranking.