Tendulkar is selfish

[TheJediBrah]

I don’t know if Dhoni bats for his average. I truly don’t.

For a once great cricketing nation deprived of simple pleasures Lara’s 400 was something they could celebrate and that could inspire the next generation (it probably did, we don’t know) of West Indians: also it ensured that his team wouldn’t lose the test which was a big deal for that bunch.

Even if we know for sure that Dhoni bats for his average and a once in a century batting achievement is less important to a cricketing culture than a shot at winning a match with a weak bowling attack... I don’t know if Tendulkar hurt his team’s chances in pursuit of personal glory. His single minded occupation of scoring runs was comparable to Hadlee’s relentless search for bowling records. Both served their teams as generously as Richards and Warne served theirs. Don’t know why trying to maximise one’s own gifts is bad for the team...

You can try and justify the behaviour in the examples I gave all you want, that's fine, but it wasn't really the crux of my point. I was just pointing out that the real definition "selfishness" being examined in this context is not the one that you are bringing up, IMO.

Specifically the type of selfishness relevant to the discussion is that which directly disadvantages your team, which is mutually exclusive to the context which you are bringing it up in (ie. can help the team).

 

[SJS]

It’s really interesting how this has become such a hot topic.

Yesterday at a friends 70th birthday party, at a restaurant with big tv screens showing the game ar WC, the discussion soon diverted to “Tendulkar is so bloody selfish. It was stunning to see that almost everyone who was speaking felt that this was so. This was an oldies (70 +/- 5 yrs) group. Ten years ago, I know most of them for decades, it was impossible to say anything even insignificantly negative about the master batsman. Nothing.

Now this- last night at ‘Mehmaan Nawazi’ and this at CW.

Very interesting. ��

 

[TheJediBrah]

For a team that had some really great players, ie. Tendulkar, Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman, Kumble, they really didn't win as often as they should have. I wonder if that's a big part of it.

 

[trundler]

Batsmen get you draws. Bowlers win you matches. Take McGrath out of that great Australian team and India manage to level a series against them in Australia and England sneak in a series win.

 

[OverratedSanity]

A lot of the best innings played by batsmen in teams with strong bowling attacks end up in memorable wins and get rated higher because of it. A lot of Tendulkar's great innings would've led to historic wins if the bowling attack was more potent. Like his 146 against at Capetown. He somehow dragged the total to parity and put India in a position to push for a historic series win. If India had Mcgrath, they probably win and Tendulkar's knock is hailed as this legendary knock in which he held off Steyn at his peak to deliver India's first ever series win in SA. Instead, it ended up a draw because India didn't quite have the bowlers to close it out and had a really stupid captain at the helm.

The kallisball game wouldn't have been the kallisball game if India had an ATG fast bowler in the side.

 

[stephen]

I thought Tendulkar's reputation for selfishness more came from him playing way past the point where someone should have replaced him rather than any specific selfish batting.

India's shops definitely have won more odi cricket than they did in the late 90s/ early 00s. Tendulkar went 234/200 in ODIs, which given the Indian batting talent of his era is not what you'd expect.

 

[_00_deathscar]

For a team that had some really great players, ie. Tendulkar, Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman, Kumble, they really didn't win as often as they should have. I wonder if that's a big part of it.

That’s an easy one (assume we’re talking tests only). India, especially outside the continent, rarely had an attack that could take 20 wickets. They could have had 6 ATG batsmen in the lineup, it wouldn’t matter (they had at least 2-3, certainly in contention anyway) . If you don’t take 20 wickets, then you’re not winning tests. Hell even at home they couldn’t regularly take 20, unlike this Indian team which is absolutely relentless.

 

[sledger]

Deathscar. What a username. From Hong Kong as well. I have serious reservations about you, just so you know.

 

[ma1978]

I thought Tendulkar's reputation for selfishness more came from him playing way past the point where someone should have replaced him rather than any specific selfish batting.

India's shops definitely have won more odi cricket than they did in the late 90s/ early 00s. Tendulkar went 234/200 in ODIs, which given the Indian batting talent of his era is not what you'd expect.

Debashish Mohanty, Abey Kuruvilla, Harvinder Singh, Manoj Prabhakar, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, etc. etc.

Even the good ones were pretty bad. If India had an average pace bowling attack, they would have been goods at ODIs.

 

[sledger]

I think some of these names are made up.

 

[ma1978]

I wish they were made up, but they were only too real.

 

[trundler]

Debashish Mohanty, Abey Kuruvilla, Harvinder Singh, Manoj Prabhakar, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, etc. etc.

Even the good ones were pretty bad. If India had an average pace bowling attack, they would have been goods at ODIs.

Mixing eras there. Munaf wasn't a 90s player. Nor was RP Singh.

 

[sledger]

Generous to describe them as "players" at all tbf.

 

[sledger]

I mean honestly. RP Singh in particular was hot garbage. Woeful.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Not enough laxmipathy Balaji there

 

[ma1978]

But they all played with Tendulkar and affected his W/L ratio.

 

[trundler]

150 Kph Varun deserves a shout-out

 

[sledger]

Not enough laxmipathy Balaji there

He was good though! Loved him. Not kidding when I say he is one of my favourite Indian cricketers.

 

[sledger]

But they all played with Tendulkar and affected his W/L ratio.

This is a weak excuse.

 

[trundler]

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...-india-2nd-odi-india-tour-of-pakistan-2003-04

This is why India lost so many matches even with Tendulkar in the team.