Cricketing Sensation...!!!!

Cricket world's newest sensation, Sachin Tendulkar, has a minor problem. Yes, literally a minor problem. He is not old enough to put his signature down on a contract, on an agreement between two parties. Therefore, when he is approached by the cricket administrators to sign tour contracts, his father or his brother will have to do it for him.

And then, when they hand out huge bottles of champagne in England or New Zealand for his great batting, he will have to rely on his older teammates to empty the bottles and give them back to him to be retained as souvenirs. What is more, an application from Sachin for a driver's licence is not likely to be entertained.

These are just a few of the several minor problems that India's major cricketing sensation of the day will have to face until April 24, 1991, when he turns 18.

Turning 18 — an important milestone in any young man's life. And an age when most young cricketers still dream of making it to the national under-19 team But, by the time Sachin turns 18, he will have played in at least 11 Test matches.

Really, nobody has done so much at such a young age in the history of Indian cricket. From Imran Khan to Abdul Qadir to Graham Gooch, almost every great cricketer who has watched him play, has sung praises of the most attractive young batsman in the cricket world today.

In the 10 Test matches that Sachin has played so far, the 17-year-old from Bombay has scored 577 runs at an average of 41.21. The record itself may not be phenomenal. But the promise is.

A promise that was evident right from the moment he played for India first and one that was seen in all its glory in Manchester last August when Sachin hit a spectacular unbeaten 119 to save India from defeat against England.

The debate now seems to have narrowed to just one question: Is he the next Sunil Gavaskar or the next Vivian Richards? Actually, he might turn out to be neither. Merely, Sachin Tendulkar. And that is good enough for Indian cricket.

Sachin says both Richards and Gavaskar are his role models. But, then, the charming, curly haired young man's first big idol in the world of sport was not a cricketer.

In 1981, when John McEnroe beat Bjorn Borg to win his first Wimbledon title, the eight-year-old Sachin jumped in joy. He fancied himself a tennis star. But in a city where the conditions were more favourable for cricket, Sachin soon turned his attention to the country's favourite game.

His father, Ramesh Tendulkar, a professor of Marathi literature, helped move his youngest son to his eldest son's house near the Shivaji Park grounds to see that he could practise regularly. The Tendulkars live a long way from Shivaji Park.

When he was playing school matches, there was this joke doing the rounds in Bombay. It seems the rival captains requested the scorer to start from 100 when Sachin came in to bat as it was taken for granted that he would get his century anyway. It made the bowlers' job easier.

Coached by the modest, simple Ramakant Achrekar, Sachin plundered runs by the hundreds and was playing in the Ranji Trophy when only 16, getting a century on his debut .

It was not long before he made it to the national team He stands a little over 150 cms and weighs 64 kg now. But he is still growing. Like every other middle class youngster, he loves pop music and has the superstition of always putting his left pad on first.

A very level-headed young man. Sachin is very confident too in whatever he does. He knows his strengths as well as his few limitations and he is always willing to learn. In Manchester, after saving the match for India, he came back and asked Bishen Bedi. the team manager, if he had done anything wrong.

Really, Sachin is very much the model student who is already a master of the game.

And it is this willingness to learn from his seniors that will take the young man far. It may not be wise to look too far into the future in sport but, all things considered, Sachin should be around doing his bit for India well into the next century.

If what he has achieved so far is nothing short of phenomenal, then the teen prodigy will have to watch out for the crippling symptoms that sooner or later seem to afflict young overachievers in most of the popular international sports.

In tennis, they call it burnout And the world of professional tennis has seen any number of gifted young ones — girls and boys — get tired of the game, both physically and mentally, in their early 20s after performing astounding feats in their teen years.

There may be a pitfall or two to watch out for in the road ahead, but given Sachin's temperament and background there is no reason to fear that the darling of Indian sports fans will lose his way in the years ahead.

If he has dashed in like a sprinter, then he has all the qualities of a classic stayer too.

Happy Reading..!!!!