da bet7： © CricInfo Crowd-pullers are not new in Indian cricket
da betsson： Partab Ramchand14-Feb-2002
© CricInfoCrowd-pullers are not new in Indian cricket. They have beenaround for a hundred years, ever since the Parsees gave the gameglamour in the early years of the 20th century. Among the earlybreed was KK Mistry, described as the Clem Hill of the Parsees.One of India’s early batting stars, the left-handed Mistry earneda name for his dazzling strokeplay, impressing the Englishmen onthe path-breaking tour of 1911, during which he also doubled asprivate secretary to the Maharaja of Patiala.Mistry was followed by DB Deodhar, CK Nayudu and Lala Amarnath inthe 20s and 30s, and during the 40s, spectators filled thegrounds to play witness to the rivalry between Vijay Merchant andVijay Hazare in notching up tall scores. Polly Umrigar and SubashGupte also had faithful fan followings in the 50s, and the Nawabof Pataudi was the supreme crowd-puller in the 60s. SunilGavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath continued the tradition in the70s, and Kapil Dev became the darling of the crowd in the 80s. Inaddition, unorthodox stroke-makers like Syed Mushtaq Ali andKrishnamachari Srikkanth had the spectators flocking to thestadium.But it is safe to say that not one of these great entertainersmatched the unique effect that Sachin Tendulkar has on followersof the game in this country. Whether it is the crowd at thestadium or the millions following the game on television all overthe world, they make one thing crystal clear they are therebecause of Tendulkar.Tendulkar has carried crowd support to another plane altogether.In the past, spectators may have come to watch a particularlybrilliant player, but even after he was out, they would stay towatch the action. These days, the crowd comes to watch Tendulkarand Tendulkar alone, and they make no secret of this.It is not even that the Indian team does not have other worldclass players in its ranks. Rahul Dravid is a supreme technician,averaging over 50 in Tests. Sourav Ganguly is a player who mixespower and elegance in fantastic proportions and, when in themood, can have the bowler begging for mercy. VVS Laxman is aHyderabadi stylist, a noble torch-bearer of the flame lit by MLJaisimha and carried by Mohammad Azharuddin. Virender Sehwag isthe new batting star on the horizon, a Tendulkar look-alike who,only a few months ago, got a century against New Zealand in aone-day international off just 70 balls and then followed it upwith a hundred on Test debut in South Africa.But all this means nothing to the spectators; Tendulkar is allthat matters for them. And when he is out, the crowd leaves indroves, and millions switch off their television sets. For them,even the end result is unimportant. Tendulkar is out, and forthem the entertainment is over. Who won? Who lost? Who cares!Tendulkar’s phenomenal hold on the crowd was seen at its mostemphatic towards the closing stages of the recent Test matchagainst England at Ahmedabad. There was no chance of a result,the proceedings were drab, and the spectators were findingvarious means to entertain themselves.One of them was to boo Shiv Sunder Das and Deep Dasgupta. Indeed,the two probably deserved cheers for the manner in which theyblunted whatever little hopes England might have harboured ofvictory with some fine batting and an invaluable centurypartnership for the first wicket. But no, the crowd did notreally care for all this. They were only concerned that thelonger the two stayed at the wicket, the more limited thepleasure of watching Tendulkar in action would be. And even in aninconsequential situation, the cheer that went up when Tendulkarfinally entered was something to be heard to be believed.Affable, mature and level-headed, Tendulkar is fully aware of thehopes and expectations of the nation. His fan following possiblyexceeds that of the biggest super-stars of filmdom. It is atribute to his mental strength, then, that he has never gotbogged down by expectations. The situation can be trulyfrightening when one considers that the country’s population isone billion and that cricket has a fan following that rivalscinema, aside from the millions of Indian cricket fans worldwide.It is a fair bet that, had Mike Denness not included Tendulkar inthe list of six Indian players he pulled up for various offencesin Johannesburg, the outcry would not have been half asvociferous. Tendulkar’s name being dragged into an unsavouryaffair like ball-tampering was something that his fans could notstomach, and the processions they took out in protest largelycentered around defending Tendulkar rather than making out a casefor the other five players.To his credit, Tendulkar does not let these unhappy interludesaffect his cricket. If anything, his batting is getting evenbetter, as proved by his burgeoning Test average and hisoutstanding exploits in the one-day game. In a way, it may not bea healthy sign for one person to shoulder such a burden in a teamgame. But such is Tendulkar’s influence that, even on the rareoccasion when he does not get runs, his presence in the side is asource of confidence and inspiration to his teammates. Therecould be no higher tribute to a young man who is already a livinglegend, not just in Indian cricket but in the Indian nation.After all, Tendulkar’s popularity has long since transcendedcricket; he is an icon in a country where heroes are hard to comeby.Perhaps the time has come, paraphrasing a famous story concerningDr WG Grace, to put a notice board outside the ground that reads”Entry fee – Rs 100. If Tendulkar plays, entry fee – Rs 500.”
