Well Well Well

Most people will be angry to read this piece by Mukul Kesavan. But he writes exactly what i have been feeling after the 100th 100.

Some excerpts

There were a series of press conferences and public events starring Tendulkar immediately after his 100th hundred at Mirpur. In none of them did Tendulkar spend much time on the fact that a) India actually lost to Bangladesh, b) that one of the reasons India lost was that Tendulkar was so focused on getting his hundred that his run rate dropped as he approached this landmark, leaving the team short of the 300-plus target that was there for the taking, and c) that India were eliminated from the tournament before the final.

.......

For a man who through his long career, has been a model of unassertive poise, the crassness of the publicity blitz and his own odd complicity, is startling. It cheapens a great cricketing legacy, like a tinsel garland on a solid gold icon. Tendulkar doesn't have to brief us about his retirement plans; he is the greatest batsman of his time and he ought to play for as long as he can hold his place in the team. But he should, as he did in his pomp, let his bat do the talking.

I do believe Tendulkar's achievement is great. 100 international 100s is awesome, no doubt. But if you are a team man, the loss to Bangladesh should have hurt. Over the 2 days after his 100 it never felt like it did. That bothers me.

Another thing that I felt was that Dravid's retirement was received very well in the press and for those 3-4 days Dravid was "Tendulkar" for India. indian cricket was synonymous with cricket and suddenly Dravid was being showered with paludits usually reserved for him. It did not sit well with the great man. nothing worng, most sportsmen have massive egos. Tendulkar did not like it. It showed in how he celebrated his 100th 100.