JONATHAN AGNEW
BBC CRICKET CORRESPONDENT
The scene was extraordinary. I can remember
sitting in a commentary box in Ahmedabad, with a view over the city, when
Sachin Tendulkar came out to bat. All of a sudden, a cloud of red smoke
erupted.
It was caused by
thousands of Indian cricket fans on motorbikes that churned up dust and blew
out fumes in the surrounding streets as they rode up to the ground to see their
hero bat.
That is the kind of
attention and adoration that Tendulkar has attracted in his homeland throughout
a long and successful career. The man is such a big celebrity that leading a
normal life has been impossible. And yet, under enormous pressure caused by a
nation's weight of expectation, he delivered consistently.
Tendulkar's career
will come to an end after the second Test against West Indies in November when
he retires from all forms of cricket. It is something that has been talked
about for a long time, and there's a perfect symmetry to it.
He'll finish with his
200th Test match, which I'd say is nailed on to be played in Mumbai, although
it's not been confirmed yet. It will be the perfect place for an outstanding
cricketer and a model professional to bow out.
I would call him the
best of his generation. Some people might say Brian Lara deserves that
accolade, and there is no doubt that those two were the best of their time.
It is true that
Tendulkar and Lara are completely different players, so comparing them is a
difficult task. And in no way would I wish to belittle Lara, who was a
wonderful player.
But if you were to put
me on the spot to pick one above the other, the records show that it has to be
Tendulkar. His record has been absolutely astonishing, and he's done it under
much more scrutiny.
Tendulkar's maiden ton
He first came to the
attention of the English cricketing public at Old Trafford in August 1990, when a
magnificent unbeaten 119 salvaged
a draw for India in the second Test.
He went on to prove he
could play in all conditions. He was phenomenal. He could bowl and bat. He had
some great battles with Shane Warne.
The only thing that
would be a slight disappointment was his captaincy. He had 25 Tests as a
captain; a relatively small number for a player of his profile. Of those, he
won only four and lost nine.
Captaincy didn't
affect his batting, but he didn't have a happy time in the job. It's hard to
explain why, but it just didn't work, and it was the right move when Sourav
Ganguly took over.
All-time
Tendulkar, though, is
rightly lauded. In India, you will never hear a single dissenting voice about
him. He's up there on a pedestal.
And off the field,
he's always been an absolute joy to deal with. I've interviewed him on a number
of occasions, and done a couple of question-and-answer events with him in
London, and he's a lovely man.
I have many great
memories of Tendulkar's batting. He scored an amazing century to win a Test
against England on a wearing pitch in Chennai in 2008; our
first visit to the country following that year's terror attacks in Mumbai.
He was never a
flamboyant batsman, and he wasn't on that occasion either.
But he played some
beautiful back-foot strokes and demonstrated great skill against the spinning
ball.
There is no doubt that
his time to retire has come. His last century was 39 innings ago, and that's
too long for a top-level batsman.
Had it been anybody
else, he would have had a tap on the shoulder before now and been told it was
time to move on.
But, in India, that
would have been an impossible thing for Coach Duncan Fletcher to do.
The end was always
going to be on Tendulkar's terms, and I don't think anyone would begrudge him
having carried on for a little longer than perhaps he should have done.
He always wanted to
reach 200 Tests and to go out in Mumbai, which would be the perfect place for
him to finish.
It will be fascinating
to see what he does next. He has already entered politics, having taken his
oath in the Rajya Sabha - the upper house of the Indian parliament - last year.
There's charity work that he does too, I'm sure he will carry on with that.
He will also continue
to take a keen interest in the progress of his 14-year-old son Arjun, a
promising cricketer who plays for some of the year in London for Ealing.
Sachin comes over to coach
him and is very happy with the way he's coming on. But there's an enormous
pressure on Arjun too, simply because of who his father is.
There will also be
pressure on the young India players looking to follow the great man. There will
be feverish debate as to who will be the next Tendulkar and whichever player
assumes that mantle will be under a huge amount of scrutiny.
Tendu
But I think India, as
a team, will move on very positively. There are some amazing players coming
through.
Tendulkar can look
back on an astonishing career. He is the only player to have scored 100
international centuries. He holds the record for the most hundreds in both Test
and one-day cricket.
And what is more, he
never blotted his copybook off the field.
You can Google
everything you like about him and you will never find a bad headline.
He has been a great
ambassador for India and a great ambassador for cricket. He was wonderful to
deal with and great to watch.
Sachin Tendulkar has
been a model sportsman.
Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport's Mike
Whalley.
In a special BBC Radio 5 live programme on Monday 14
October at 21:00 BST, Mark Chapman is joined by BBC cricket correspondent
Jonathan Agnew and Indian commentator Prakash Wakankar as they look back at the
career of Sachin Tendulkar.
