23 years & still going strong: Sachin Tendulkar’s passion for cricket makes him enjoy it

Sachin Tendulkar has done what no other Indian cricketer has been able to do for the game in India so far. It was November 1989 when the 16-year-old Tendulkar set foot in international cricket, against Pakistan. On one hand this span of 23 years has seen Tendulkar play 188 Tests, and on the other, it has seen a total number of 867 players try their hand at Test cricket, says an article in The Hindu, adding that this itself is a phenomenal achievement for him.

“Longevity in sports speaks of mental toughness, skill enhancement process and fitness levels. All three can successfully combine only when a sportsperson has a passion that goes beyond common place motivation. In the case of Sachin Tendulkar, it's his passion for the game that continues to make him enjoy it. Mental and physical levels create tricky situations in sports and to keep enjoying the game, the mental equilibrium becomes an important issue. This is exactly the reason that field sports should never be compared with indoor sports. Both are different ball games,” says the article adding that in 135 years of Test cricket, there have been 2,689 Test players; 1,822 before Tendulkar arrived and 867 after. This effectively means that most of the players who played after Tendulkar's debut either didn't have the desired skills or were mentally not equipped to deal with the pressures of international cricket.

Tendulkar has 15,470 Test runs at an average of 55.44, 18,426 ODI runs at 44.30 in 463 matches, and even though he has had very little time to play first class matches like Ranji and Duleep because of the tight international schedule, he has 78 first class hundreds.

Meanwhile according to an article in The Times Of India, a series where plenty of attention has been given to absent West Indies players concludes with the focus on England resting spearhead seamer James Anderson from the third Test at Edgbaston, in Birmingham. In rising to No.1 in the world Test rankings, England have rested players along the way — Anderson missed the 2010 tour of Bangladesh. The difference now is that the Lancashire star doesn’t want a break. But the concern for England is the sheer amount of cricket they have left this season — four Tests (three against South Africa who will be challenging them for top spot in the rankings), 14 One-Day Internationals and four Twenty20s. And then comes the defence of their World Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka and a Test tour of India.

Meanwhile Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday visited the Kargil War Memorial to pay homage to the martyrs, winding up his five-day visit to the state. The India captain laid a wreath at Kargil War Memorial and paid homage to the martyrs. He also interacted with the officers and Jawans of the army and villagers of Kaksar, sources said.

According to Indian Express report, The 16-year-old joint venture between News Corporation and ESPN is finally coming to an end. News Corporation is all set to buy ESPN’s 50% stake in ESPN Star Sports (ESS), a JV between ESPN and Star in Asia to broadcast sports events. The announcement was made on Wednesday after both the companies were involved in hectic discussions to chart out the separation. “Until the transition is completed, both News Corp and ESPN will run the JV. The entire process will be over by August,” a source in the know of developments said.