Genius of Tendulkar

"This was written before the Melbourne test (Dec 03) I think."

Every genius has a dark side. A realization of what they are, their tremendous potential, an overpowering urge to explode, to destroy, to stamp their authority on other mere mortals. This is what they derive their power from but this can be their heaviest burden. Brian Lara has seen both sides of the coin. At various times he has seemed  unstoppable, then tired, in complete control and then willing to give up. Now it seems he has come to peace with his powers and learned to harness them better than anybody else. On the other hand Shane Warne has been overwhelmed, intoxicated, drugged by them. He has basked in their glory and they have led to his downfall. But soon he will be back and sure as hell he wont have changed his ways at all for he doesnt drive his dark side but is driven by it. He relishes in its excesses. Unfortunately for us Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has decided to curb those powers and to carry the burden gracefully. He wont be weighed down by them but he also wont let them flower in all their splendour. Under intense public scrutiny all the time he has decided to give to us what we wanted, he has become what we expect from him: A man of enormous talent who wont let it get to his head, who would be polite, respectful, a man with typical middle class ethos. Instead of being a firebrand he chose to be a senior statesman in the team, he chose to be a gentle zephyr when he could have been a hurricane. He tries to play the test cricket the way it should be played. Instead of taking the bowler by the scruff of his neck and thrashin him out of the park, he tries to play each ball on its merit while the only real merit that exists resides within him and his willow. What he should realise is that he is not meant to tread the chosen path nor to hum the oft repeated tune. He is born to blaze his path through the annals of cricketing history and so he should do if he wants to be faithful to himself. Whenever he has chosen to put his foot down the result has been nothing short of miracle: opration desert storm, warne's nightmare, paki massacre. Here is hoping that for once he would let the forces that be overwhelm him and drive him back to form putting the fear of god in the hearts of lee and company.