Sachin Tendulkar post-Greg Chappell

Greg Chappell's time as coach of the Indian cricket team will always be remembered for all the wrong reasons. The cynical might also term it as one of the most tumultuous phases Indian cricket has gone through, right up there with the match-fixing saga. I believe the Greg Chappell era was a bit of an eye-opener for Indian cricket. It bought out both the best and worst the Indian cricket team had to offer.

But this post is not about the team. This post is about Sachin Tendulkar. The one marked difference I have seen about Tendulkar after the recent ODI series is that the "joie de vivre" is back in his game. The man is smiling again, ofcourse not when no brainer notout is given out.

The one aspect about Tendulkar's game that was always intact was his joy and enthusiasm for the game. Give him the ball in his hand and it was like seeing a child with a candy bar. Even when beaten by the bowler or having smashed them out of the park, the smile was always there. It is this factor that seem to have vanished for some time.

For a lot of part of Chappell's tenure he seemed to be a burdened man. His mind seemed to be cluttered. There was an indecisiveness in his game. He couldn't decide if he wanted to attack or defend. One can only speculate if it was him coming to terms with his aging body, or was it an immortal fretting over his impending mortality, or was it purely a confused state of mind who's seeds were sown by the coach. No one will ever know.

To be honest I was part of the minority camp that thought Tendulkar was past his best and that it his time he left the stage on his own terms with grace while he could. But I reached this stance based on prima facie his performances and his body language and what he was offering to the team at the point. Was a half fit Tendulkar worth his place in the side when another batsman could have been groomed? At the time I thought no.

Watching Tendulkar in the recent England series was a treat. Both for the seldom displayed doggedness in the Tests and the freedom with which he batted in the ODI's. He seems more focussed and clear in his approach right now. The Tendulkar I saw at the presentation ceremony of the 6th ODI at the Oval was one of the happiest I have seen in a long long time.

People who argue for Tendulkar playing on till the 2011 WC are foolhardy and are not willing to accept the fact that Sachin Tendulkar for all his mightiness will sooner or later retire. Like all legends, his time to go will come soon. However, he has earned the right to go out on his own terms. Which I fear might not be too far away.