Tendulkar's band of brothers
The accolades that poured in for Sachin Tendulkar on his completion of 20 years in international cricket largely concerned his achievements in this decade, since the 2-1 victory over Australia in 2001
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
The accolades that poured in for Sachin Tendulkar on his completion of 20 years in international cricket largely concerned his achievements in this decade, since the 2-1 victory over Australia in 2001. The reason for this, Ashok Malik writes, is that the presence of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly, who contributed significantly to India's successes, infused a context to Tendulkar's accomplishments. Read his article in the Sunday Pioneer.
Great individuals often need, and sometimes build or summon, great contexts. Bradman played for 20 years but his abiding legacy is still the fact that he led the Invincibles, the Team of 1948 that is perhaps the greatest Australian team of all time. Fittingly, Sachin has been the fulcrum of Indian cricket’s greatest generation — five good men, Tendulkar and Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman, and Anil Kumble. This was a Band of Brothers like no other. They rescued Indian cricket from the swamp of shame, renewed its spirit, taught it how it win — everywhere, in all conditions.
Siddhartha Talya is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo