"After 17 years, I don't think I have a point to prove,", says Sachin Tendulkar after his 101 against Bangladesh in the first test underway at Chittagong. As both Cricinfo and DNA point out he does have a lot to prove.
Consider that this is only his third test hundred in nearly two and half years and 18 tests. Two of these have come against Bangladesh and one against Sri Lanka at home. Going back a little further since his 194 (NO) against Pakistan at Multan in March 2004, Tendulkar has played against Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, England (at home) and Pakistan, South Africa (away) and has failed to score a single century in these matches. In between he has missed a fair share of matches too.
The slump, for that is what it is, has been coming for quite some time. I date it from the second test against West Indies at Port of Spain in April 2002 (incidentally India won that match) when Tendulkar scored 117 in the first innings. In a bizarre sequence, he made 3 ducks in his next four innings. Upto this test, Tendulkar had scored 29 centuries in 94 tests, at an average of one hundred every 3.2 tests. Since April 2002, he has scored 7 hundreds in 42 tests, averaging one hundred every 6 tests. His career average has fallen from 57.7 in April 2002 to 54.9, not a quantum fall but indicative of the slippage in standards. It is not as though the team has collectively gone through a slump in this period - the last one and half years has seen one failure after another for the Indian team. But from 2002 to 2005, India drew test series in England, Australia and beat Pakistan in Pakistan. Note also that this phase overlaps with Indian batters' golden period under Sourav Ganguly, which started in 2001 and ended in 2004.
Comparatively, Ricky Ponting, the world's best batsman currently, has scored 10 hundreds in his last 18 tests and 16 hundreds in his last 42 tests. These last 18 tests featured home and away series against South Africa and a home Ashes series against England. Hardly turkey shoots. To emphasise the point further, Ponting's average is now just shy of 60 compared to below 50 in 2002.
Funnily enough, Rahul Dravid also has only 3 hundreds in his last 18 tests, but that figure improves to a slightly more respectable 9 in his last 42. It is to be pointed out though that his 3 centuries in the last 18 tests all come away from home against Pakistan and West Indies. Using the April 2002 Port of Spain test as the cut-off point, Dravid's average has risen from 52.8 to 57.4. Converting fifties to hundreds has not always been Dravid's strong point but consistency is. And his fitness record is second to none. Add to this the pressure of captaincy.
The point is Tendulkar's average is slipping, he is not able to score hundreds with the same frequency as before and over the last five years, he has been on a decline. Age and the pressure of playing for India have caught up with him. Is he still one of the six best batsmen in India at present? Absolutely. Does he deserve his place at this point of time. No doubt. But does he deserve to bat two down, from where a batsman is expected to consolidate a good start, where a batsman should be expected to score his fair share of hundreds? No. Yuvraj or Laxman deserve to do so, as the case may be. And Tendulkar doesn't deserve to walk straight back into the team after an injury break as he did after last year's Windies tour. He has not been match fit ever since the Kulala Lumpur tri-series and his failure in the shorter version of the game is no surprise. He may well be remembered as India's best batsman (although Gavaskar and Dravid have strong claims) but he is no longer 'indispensable'. And if now and then a bunch of selectors muster the courage to drop him, they should be applauded.
So, Sachin has got it wrong. He should realise that he has to prove that he is worth his place every time he walks out. And no he hasn't earned the right to decide on his own about when to stop. Others will take that call as it should be. We can't afford another instance of a promising career delayed as happened when Kapil played on to deny Srinath for about 3 years. I will be more than glad to revise my opinions if he unfurls those hundreds against England and Australia in away tours this year.
End of rant. You can find the stats here.
