THE current triangular tournament for the Coca-Cola Cup between India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, at the time of writing, has reached the final phase of the first round. The current standings, as it is, indicates more towards a New Zealand-Sri Lanka final with India, after some poor performances in the first few matches, struggling to find their feet. True, in the last match India overcame Sri Lanka quite comfortably, but to most Indian fans, which includes me, there is an unanswered question: how big is the impact of Tendulkar on the Indian performances, or, if I am permitted to rephrase it, the absence of Tendulkar on the Indian performances? At the outset, I do not wish to insult the Little Master with this question, as he is today about the greatest asset any team could boast of. This is inclusive of players of the calibre of Lara, Inzamam, Steve and Mark Waugh. That is how high I rate the Indian genius. Now, when you have a player of this calibre in your team, and if he pulls out for some good reason, it is naturally an uphill task to replace him. The point I however want to emphasis here is the importance of being able to stand on your own and cope with the challenges faced in the International arena which is nothing new to India or its cricket. The world of cricket faced a similar scenario in the decade of the 80s. When the four great all-rounders were on display, Botham, Kapil, Imran and Hadlee formed such an important part of their respective teams that there came a stage when a game without one of them was unthinkable. I dare say, judging by the results achieved, England never seemed to have succeeded in their endless search for a quality all-rounder and as a result of this situation English cricket has only got poorer as they don't seem to have still got over this situation.
Now, getting back to India and Tendulkar, it is quite apparent that a fit and firing Tendulkar will be the motivation the rest of the team need. With a relatively young and inexperienced side at their disposal, India have found it difficult to chase scores even in the region of 200 on fairly easy-paced tracks. With the experience centered around captain Ganguly and Dravid, and the highly talented Laxman forming an integral part of the Indian line up, the youngsters such as Sehwag, Badani and Yuveraj have been looking up to these players for inspiration which has not been forthcoming these days. At least on the current Sri Lankan tour, the form of these players have been patchy and hasn't really dominated any bowling attack, which has made life of the young but talented batch of cricketers difficult.
I am sure any one of the young men referred here would have loved to be in a partnership with Tendulkar and witness from the non-striker's end the carnage caused by the Little Master at the expense of the opposition's bowlers. Sehwag in particular, who seems to model himself on Tendulkar in the way he walks and even with his attire and stance at the crease, could find great inspiration from him. And this would be just what the doctor has ordered for Indian cricket. Imagine the number of young Tendulkars coming through the system. Not that there aren't any coming through, but the emulation of the likes of Tendulkars and Muralis and even Jayasuriyas is a way of life for all the up-and-coming youngsters around the world.
Having discussed the positive aspects of Tendulkar it is imperative that one considers the negative results too. My fear, as far as Indian cricket is concerned, is the cracks that may appear in the batting due to the over dependency on the Little Master. It is always natural to rely on your best player and this has been very much the story in many a team, for example Turner and Hadlee for New Zealand, Gavaskar and Visvanath for India, Boycott and Botham for England, in their time.
India's current status is no different. But looking at the talent and potential available in India I think it will be sooner rather than later that India will once again start to fire on all cylinders. The greatest and the most important factor that converts a player from being merely promising to a higher echelon in his standing is self belief and confidence. If you lack that it will be hard to succeed. But with the growth in confidence and belief in your ability, the need to conquer and succeed at what you do looms large and will influence you to achieve your set targets, goals and objectives.
Sooner the young guns in the Indian camp attain such a status, its cricket will start clicking. But as indicated earlier, the man they might look to achieve it will be the one they cannot do without. The Little Master himself, which only illustrates one thing: the dependency on Tendulkar.
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