Indian Test team is about to play its first Test match after a long gap of more than half-a-year and everyone is talking about the new faces in the Indian team. There is a massive change in the team that last played in Australia. Two of the best all-time batsmen -- Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman -- have called it a day and that has tilted the whole balance of the team. Earlier the team suffered losses like Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. But despite everything, there is one member in the team who saw these players make their debut and now have seen them retire and here we are talking of none other than Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin made his debut in 1989, even a year earlier than the great Anil Kumble and after almost 23 years he is still holding the crease with conviction. Sachin has shared the dressing room with some of the finest players that India have produced, but now that they are gone, once again Sachin finds himself in a place where he will have to shoulder the responsibility to groom the youngsters.
Sachin, who has hundred international hundreds to his name, will know that the team will be expecting much more than the runs from his bat. Players who shared the responsibilities with him have all retired and Indian Test team is in a position where they have to prove themselves once again.
Before Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Kumble started playing, India was a side that did well in home conditions, but the team’s record was embarrassing once they travelled to a foreign ground. These greats ensured that India no longer remained a nation that can do well only in familiar conditions. Indian cricket team is going through a same stage now and it is Sachin’s job to ensure that the team maintains the same high standards.
New players like, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina and Ajinkya Rahane will be hoping for guidance from one of the best batters of all time. India just can’t afford to lose Sachin at this time as they need a father-figure in a team that is going through some massive changes and Sachin will be aware of that very fact.
It is true that Sachin can’t play forever, but with all the other greats gone, Sachin has to ensure that he hangs his boots only when the young Indian team is fully settled and is ready to take on some fierce challenge.
By Indian Sports News Network
