The dilemma of being Sachin Tendulkar

When Sachin Tendulkar pumped his fist in the air after scoring his 42nd ODI century in the first final against Australia on Sunday, many cricketing legends would've been put off. Nothing more than Sachin's sacking in the new young Indian squad with a median of 25 would do. In fact, some players like Sanjay Manjrekar would only be too happy to see Sachin retire. His two articles on two days were as opposite as Mars and Venus. Where he was criticising Tendulkar for the manner in which he was playing in the series Down Under on the eve of the first final of the CB series, he was waxing eloquent after Sachin hit an unbeaten 117 at the SCG in the very next article.
For a long time now, critics have pointed out how Tendulkar fails in the finals fo every tournament. Kapil Dev, a couple of days ago, said that just because Tendulkar has performed in one finals of one tournament after about fifteen failures, it does not mean he should be put on a pedestal.
Why do most former players hate seeing Sachin succeed? The most simple and obvious answer is professional jealously. After playing alongside Sahin and now being 'retired experts', it is difficult for these players to digest the stamina, hunger, drive and obscene money the Little Genius is still making.
When Gavaskar wrote that the SCG will now be called Sachin Cricket Ground after Tendulkar smashe dhis first ODI ton in Australia after two decades in cricket, it was hard not to see a trace of sarcasm in the piece. What these experts dont realise that Dravid and Ganguly may have been exemplary players but their presence in the dressing room did not amount to the same level of excitement as when Tendulkar is sharing with his younger team-mates. It is as no great surprise when Rohit Sharma said batting with Sahcin at the SCG was his best innings so far. This is because Sachin is a contrast to the individualistically perfect Dravid and the controversy prone Ganguly, both of whom manage to draw attention to themselves than their game. Cricket writers have often pointed how Sachin soaks all the pressure a cricket crazy nation of over a billion people puts on him every time he goes out to bat. He still has the goods to play for at least another couple of years. Cricketers learn so much from watching him play. Any opposing team has to watch the tapes of Sachin batting all the time because of the improvisation he brings in his shot-making, whether it is the paddle sweep, the six over third-man or his latest shot, hitting over the wicket-keeper and sli pcordon's heads, Sachin is always learning and showing others what to do. Ganguly had to fight his own demons with the short ball and Dravid seems to have gone into his own shell ever since he gave up captaincy in April last year.
It is clear everyone in India is looking ahead. Individual baggage of a celebrated cricketer does not count for much in the Vengsarkar-Dhoni era. MS Dhoni has proved his instinct workes better than the brains of selectors combined. He needs to put on his thinking cap once again. A sportsman does not need to be a captain to motivate a bunch of young and eager boys. And if Sachin can mould this young team full of brimming talent into a group of fighting winners, he will leave the game with the biggest legacy of them all. Will the retired experts and expert selectors let him do that?