Sachin — as reticent as in his playing days

December 22, 2014 11:13 pm | Updated 11:13 pm IST

OEB_Playing It My Way

OEB_Playing It My Way

Decades down the line, even if other memories may have dimmed, many of

us will tell our grandchildren: “I saw Tendulkar play.” When those words emerge, our voice will fleetingly regain the vigour of youth. Such is his power; such is the affection that we have for Sachin Tendulkar.

Naturally, when talk about an impending autobiography did the rounds a few years back, there was a huge buzz. It only got bigger after his farewell speech following his last Test at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on November 16, 2013.

Tendulkar tugged at hearts and made everyone — the young and old, the gushing believer and the cynical reporter — reach for tissues as eyes got moist. That address to a cricketing nation only heightened the expectations around the book. However when the 486-page tome ‘Playing It My Way’ arrived, creating new records in pre-order sales, it proved to be a dampener. The reticence that Tendulkar cultivated as a player, is exhibited again.

The politically-correct air cracks briefly when he lambasts Australian batting legend Greg Chappell, who had a mixed run as the Indian coach or when Tendulkar recalls the ‘Multan declaration’ in which skipper Rahul Dravid’s decision left the maestro stranded on 194 during the 2004 tour of Pakistan.

Yet, largely this book is a chronological recounting of every series that he played, much like a fan-indulgence. But the much-needed emotion goes missing and the writing leaves much to be desired.

Factual errors too creep in and at one point, Tendulkar writes: “I remember telling John Wright, after he took over as coach of India in 2005, that he really shouldn’t have taken that catch!” Incidentally, Wright quit coaching India in 2005. The alleged Chappell talk about Tendulkar taking over captaincy prior to the 2007 World Cup is subject to interpretation as trackers of Indian cricket stress that if there was a feeler, it was put out much before. There is also the bit about Javagal Srinath consoling him during the 1997 West Indies tour when Tendulkar himself writes that the speedster missed the series because of a shoulder-surgery!

Tendulkar’s 24-year stint at the highest level is bound to have thrown up innumerable memories and it is probable that at times, the sequence of events got mixed up. Thus it was all the more imperative that the co-author Boria Majumdar and the editors double-checked the facts.

Quibbles aside, the book throws light on Tendulkar’s romance with Anjali, whom he married. The influence of his brother Ajit and coach Ramakant Achrekar, the love of his parents, uncle and aunt, the support from his first agent, the late Mark Mascarenhas, are also well etched.

You do feel for him when he describes his injuries. When tennis-elbow laid him low in 2004, Tendulkar writes about an alternative treatment: “I tried shockwave therapy, which involved a machine that looked like a hairdryer being placed on my elbow. The feeling reminded me of blowing up a balloon and at one point I thought my elbow was going to burst under pressure.”

While dwelling upon controversies, Tendulkar gives his version of the ‘Monkey-gate’ episode that involved Australia’s Andrew Symonds and India’s Harbhajan Singh in the 2008 Sydney Test. However, when it comes to match-fixing allegations that first tarnished Indian cricket in 2000, he writes about finding it ‘repulsive’ and then gets on with his career. Maybe it is the legal issues shadowing the fixing-saga that made him cagey but being a key figure who helped the Indian fan regain his faith, Tendulkar could have said more.

There are a few peeks into the behind-the-scenes stuff. A dinner with Yuvraj Singh in which Tendulkar peps up the all-rounder ahead of the 2011 World Cup, and a description of him batting with his eyes closed at the nets, in all his genius, make you yearn for more.

Among the drawbacks, the oversights strike a discordant note. Sanjay Manjrekar’s ton and double century during Tendulkar’s debut series in Pakistan in 1989 or Dravid’s three hundreds in England during 2011, are never discussed. In the end, the book doesn’t do justice to Tendulkar.

Playing It My Way - My Autobiography: Sachin Tendulkar; Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt. Ltd., 4th & 5th Floors, Corporate Centre, Plot No. 94, Sector 44, Gurgaon-122003. Rs. 899.

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