PTI
Mumbai, Apr 24: Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his 33rd birthday Monday, April 24, battling injuries and an indifferent form but having lost none of the hunger to resurrect a phenomenal career.
The past one year has been particularly harsh on Tendulkar who has had to contend with injuries and a string of low scores, leading to speculation on whether his best was behind him.
A record-breaking 35th century at the Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi has been the only bright moment since his last birthday but there have been other times on the cricket field where he has shown glimpses of his vintage form.
However, those moments of class and artistry have been few and far between and being booed by his home crowd during the third and final Test England in March this year will no doubt be one of the lowest points of his career, spanning close to 17 years.
At 33, he is clearly on the crossroads of his career, the resurrection of which will be determined by his tenacity to overcome all odds.
Recuperating from yet another surgery, the master batsman will remain away from the game for some time, which could turn out to be a blessing in disguise, allowing him the space to ponder and work out his game.
Tendulkar is set to miss the one-dayers in West Indies, venue of the World Cup next year, but expected to be fit in time for the four-Test series beginning on June 2.
The Mumbai-born would be a vital cog in the wheel for India's World Cup plans with skipper Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell banking heavily on his experience and influence in the dressing room. PTI
Tendulkar, an "unbowlable" batsman of my era: Akram
by Wasim Akram for PTI
This Monday, Sachin Tendulkar will be all of 33 years. Most cricketers can have nine lives and still wouldn't go beyond the foothills of his achievements. Yet, there is a call for his head. The Gulliver of our times is being held down by the Lilliputs. Liberate him and you would still enjoy the genius of this man who has been one of the greatest cricketers ever to walk on this earth.
I have no time for all these tales coming out of India. Tendulkar is finished; he can't face up to short-pitched bowling; he is being "carried" in the team; he should choose between two forms of the game; his injured frame is somehow being held together and horror of horrors, the time has come to look beyond him.
From being toast of the nation for a decade and a half, it would now appear as if he stands between the team and the golden future. Shame on all! I sometimes wonder if all this affects Tendulkar. Beyond the profile of equanimity in public, he is, after all, a human and it must hurt.