Sachin Tendulkar Was A Lone Warrior For His Team During The 1990s: Sanjay Manjrekar

Sachin Tendulkar. Okay! Tell me, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read, hear or watch Sachin Tendulkar? Master Blaster? ‘God of cricket’? Child Prodigy? Record slayer? Record maker? Lone Warrior?

Well! if you ask fans who have grown up watching Indian cricket in the 1990s, the mere mention of the term ‘Lone Warrior’ is sure to bring back a lot of memories of games where Tendulkar stood like a rock for his team, only to be let down by his teammates.

Sachin’s teammate during a major part of the 1990s, Sanjay Manjrekar has now admitted that Team India was way too dependent on the Master Blaster during that era, and according to the former cricketer-turned-commentator, the main reason for that was Sachin’s prodigious talent and breathtaking consistency.

Manjrekar also hailed Sachin as India’s first-ever batsman who had the ability to take the attack to the opposition from the very outset and hit good bowls on the up.

“Unfortunately, by 96/97, the team was really too dependent on (Sachin) Tendulkar. Because, you know, he was damn consistent. And he was India’s first batsman who was able to dominate and hit good balls for runs,” Sanjay Manjrekar said during an Instagram Live session with Ravichandran Ashwin.

Manjrekar added: “Until then, India was about defensive batting and putting the bad balls away, like Sunil Gavaskar. A couple of sessions of giving respect to the bowler and then, you know, as they tire out, you get a loose ball and you score off it. Sachin would hit a good ball from a quality bowler on the up for four,”

Also Read: Sanjay Manjrekar Reckons Players Should Treat Commentators As Garnish

“Sachin getting out was a very rare thing,”- Sanjay Manjrekar on Sachin Tendulkar’s consistency

Sachin Tendulkar made his debut as a 16-year-old against Pakistan in 1989 and within the first three years of his international career, he had a 90 in New Zealand, a match-saving hundred at Old Trafford in England and two three-figures in Australia which also included a masterly ton on the bouncy WACA track in Perth.

Manjrekar hailed Sachin for his astounding consistency and said that within the first three years of his career, it had become pretty apparent to him and his teammates that Sachin belonged to a different league altogether.

“Sachin’s greatness at that time was that his failures were so rare and right through his career. That is a hallmark of a great batsman. Sachin getting out was a very rare thing,” Manjrekar told Ashwin.

“Sachin Tendulkar the batsman made his debut in 89. In just about a year… he got an 80 in New Zealand, he got his first hundred in England and by 91/92, the world was looking at him as a world-class player. The age was always a factor, just 17 years old. And the way he was dominating quality attacks. For us in the team, there was no doubt that this guy was in a different league,” Manjrekar said.

And, boy didn’t he testify to the hilt during the course of the next two decades.

Also Read: VVS Laxman Recounts When Sachin Tendulkar Staged His Redemption Against Shane Warne In Chennai 1998

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