It’s a surrender, says Rajsingh Dungarpur

Tendulkar won the award for the Most Valuable Player for India in the recent Test series against Australia while Ajay Jadeja bagged the Superstar award for the triangular series that followed. Each received a Thomson 29-inch TV for their efforts at a packed gathering, among whom were Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai, Hanumant Singh, Mohinder Amarnath, Ajit Agarkar and Rahul Sanghvi besides Tendulkar’s father Ramesh and wife Anjali.

This is the second time that Tendulkar had won a contestby the same sponsors. During the 1997 Calypso series against the West Indies, he won the Master Blaster title and with a 46-inch TV set offered by the company.

The presence of Tendulkar and Krish Srikkanth together on the occasion made one wonder the kind of devastation they could have caused in combination against international attacks if they were playing today.

Tendulkar’s first steps in international cricket came at a time when Srikkanth was in the twilight of his entertaining career. In many ways, Srikkanth — Tendulkar’s first international captain — pioneered the theory of commencing the innings by blazing away in the restrictive phase of the first 15 overs — the on-the-rise essays over the in-field was a nightmare for bowlers. Today, Tendulkar has taken that sustained aggression to a new dimension as one saw recently at Sharjah.

Recalling Tendulkar’s saga at Sharjah, Dungarpur said: “When Sachin came in after sandstorm stopped play (in the crucial India-Australia tie before the final), I toldhim to watch out for possible deposits of sand on the wicket which may make the odd ball skid. Sachin politely said he will take note of that. I was noticing him carefully when he walked out again into the middle. He just did not look at the wicket. Here was a batsman totally focussed, with immense belief in his supreme abilities. He did not want to allow any negative thoughts enter his mind. I really felt foolish to have advised him.”

Jadeja, who made two hundreds and was out just once in the tri-series involving India, Australia and Zimbabwe, also came in for praise from the BCCI chief. “It’s very sad to see such a talented player be sidelined for the Test matches. I only hope he starts performing like he does in limited-overs and carves a niche permanently in the Test squad as well. Jadeja is not only a fine attacking batsman but also a superb fielder and his service to the team is invaluable,” Dungarpur said.