Cricket / Paul Moon / 10 November 2009 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

As Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his 20th year in international cricket, Paul Moon pays homage to the greatest batsman of our time and wonders how many innings the Little Master still has left in him.

In the entire history of sport only one man has symbolised his country's emotional outlet whilst at the same time carrying the hopes of hundreds of millions. To do so with such serene dignity elevates mortal Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar to deity.

On the 15 November 2009 and 18 December 2009 respectively the world's greatest batsman ever (http://betting.betfair.com/cricket/cricket/tendulkar-is-a-better-batsman-041207.html) celebrates 20-years playing Test cricket and ODIs. Longevity in itself is remarkable but when measured against the mental rigors and physical demands of the modern game, the achievement is without equal. Incessantly succeeding whilst being under the greatest pressure is testimony to his class.

Listening to the mood music coming out of India it is clear that he wants to help India win the 2011 World Cup, now being hosted in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He wants to take his Test scoring past 15,000 runs and his ODI scoring past 20,000 runs. Tendulkar denies chat of records and targets but they exist and here lies the anxiety.

Sachin's outward demeanour demands respect and admiration and his integrity has never been questioned but care must be taken that he does not compromise his high standards by playing too much cricket for too long. For all of us who have worshipped his perfect balance, technique and repertoire of shots for so long, this omnipotent batting perfection must leave the game with the applause still ringing and the crowd still standing!

No disciple wants to see him scrounging runs with an eye on statistics; we are not really concerned if he is still the best batsman in the team, we want him to bow out at the right time for him and his memory! Nothing must blemish that. Maybe that day has not come yet but it is close at hand. The moment needs to be chosen.

An option to prolong his Test career would be to appear in fewer limited-over matches but that does not seem likely within the current mindset. However, nothing damages your mental approach more than physical handicaps and a lot can go wrong before 2011. Meanwhile, he remains the first to practice sessions and last to leave.

Looking at his most recent statistics there is evidence of his mortality and that he is not firing on all cylinders. He was the second highest run scorer in the last Test series against New Zealand (behind Gautam Gambhir) with a healthy average of 68.8, which included a majestic knock of 160. He played one of the great ODI knocks of all time last Thursday against Australia which almost saw India over the line but other than that he hasn't been at his very best in the 50-over format.

He is in the winter of his career and on the downslope but all things are relative. Some snipe that in the last quarter of his career he has adopted a more conservative approach, but so what? You can't expect him to be as nimble between the wickets now as he was a few years back and not every situation requires runs to be scored at break-neck pace.

It will be both sad and interesting to see how a billion Indian mourn his retirement. An outpouring of unbridled emotion and melancholy will surely sweep across the Indian subcontinent before touching other parts of the cricketing globe. It will send the Indian public into a state of temporary paralysis while they come to terms with the fact that his like will not be seen again in their lifetime.

Would it not be fitting for Tendulkar to score a match-winning century in the 7th ODI on 11 November in his hometown of Mumbai against the Australians? Salvaging lost pride is the only prize for India but losing 4-3 sounds a lot better than 5-2. Latest Betfair prices: India [1.73] Australia [2.34]. The 'Top Indian Batsman' market shows Tendulkar trading at around [4.5]. Now you wouldn't want to be opposing him in that would you? Much less would you begrudge him if he led the way for India for the umpteenth time in his career.