It’s been three months when Tendulkar was offered a place in Rajya Sabha and more than one and half months when he took oath. But his performance is yet to be revealed as politician. India has a long list of cricketers-turn-politicians like Azhar ud Din, Novjot Sidhu, Vinod Kambli, Manoj Parbhakar, Kirti Azad, Chethan Chauhan, Mansur Ali Patudi and many others however none of them was as great as Tendulkar Tendulkar is. On the other hand, in Pakistan, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Amir Sohail and few other Pakistani players have joined politics but none of them was as great as Imran Khan is. So, this equation takes us to the question;
Can Tendulkar become Imran Khan of India?
One can only answer to this question after having a detailed look at both legends’ lives and achievements.
Tendulkar’s Achievements
1. Sachin Tendulkar is the Highest Run scorer in One Day Internationals & Test Cricket (15470, 18426 respectively) and 33906 runs overall
2. First person to hit a Double Century in the history of one day cricket
3. Only player with 100 centuries (ODI 49 & Tests 51)
4. Most number of man of the matches in ODIs= 62
5. Most number of nineties in the ODI= 28
6. Scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs for 8 times
7. The only player to be in top 10 ICC ranking for 10 years
8. Most ODI Centuries in a calendar year: 9 in 1998
9. Consecutive ODI Appearances: 185
10. Tendulkar is the only player who has 150 wkts and more than 15000 runs in ODI
11. Highest earning cricketer in the world
Imran Khan’s Achievements
1. Winning World Cup
2. World's second-best all-rounder after Garry Sobers with 7000+ runs and around 550 wickets
4. Inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2010
5. Defeated India in India, England in England and three creditable draws against the West Indies
6. Captained Pakistan for maximum number of years and in maximum number of matches
And that’s it… I have been trying to google Imran Khan’s records but could not find many which could impress cricket fans. And Tendulkar… I had to edit most of his records to keep my thesis short and precise. He owns a long list of records that even Wikipedia could not cover all. Tendulkar is undoubtedly a (far) better cricketer than Imran.
Tendulkar’s stats far better than Imran:Tendulkar remained on top and Imran struggled on their debut. Imran delivered 28 wicketless overs and was dropped from the side for next 3 years whereas Tendulkar made 215 in 6 innings with the average of 35.33 in his first series. Cricket gurus called him second Gavaskar that he proved later.
An Eye-Opening Comparison;
Batting Career (Tests) Batting Career (ODIs) Bowling Career (ODIs)
Imran
|
Tundulkar
|
Imran
|
Tundulkar
|
Imran
|
Tundulkar
| |||
Matches
|
88
|
188
|
Matches
|
175
|
463
|
Overs
|
1239
|
1340
|
Runs
|
3807
|
15470
|
Runs
|
3709
|
18426
|
Wickets
|
182
|
154
|
Highest
|
136
|
248
|
Highest
|
102
|
200
|
Best Bowling
|
6-14
|
5-32
|
Average
|
37.69
|
55.45
|
Average
|
33.41
|
44.83
|
5wI
|
1
|
2
|
100s
|
6
|
51
|
100s
|
1
|
49
|
Strike Rate
|
40.9
|
52.2
|
50s
|
18
|
65
|
50s
|
19
|
96
|
Apart from amazing stats of Tendulkar, I would still put Imran Khan ahead of Tendulkar because of his on the field phenomenal performance and off the field remarkable contribution to the society like;
Imran Khan’s Contribution to Cricket:
· Cricket can be divided into two phases
o Pre-Imran & Post Imran Phases
o Pre-Imran phase is all about playing traditional cricket where two teams would play for the sake of playing whereas Post-Imran cricket is all about playing for winning without having a fear of losing
o Miandad’s last-ball sixer is the greatest example of “Fight Back”. A philosophy that was not in practice before Imran. That famous sixer changed the mode of the game and psyche of the cricketers
· He introduced Leg Spinners in One Day Cricket and used them as trump card
· He gave and implemented the idea of using first 15 overs by starting inning with Saeed Anwar & Saleem Yousuf, years before Jayasurya and Kaluwitharna mastered the art
· Added a team of fighters to the cricket globe as Golden era of Pakistan cricket belongs to him as Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam, Moin and other players and captains followed his philosophy and earned victories for the country. The very same philosophy can be observed at club level even.
· He always lead from the front (Including his last game in the final of World Cup 1992)
Tendulkar’s Contribution to Cricket:
· His records are somehow unachievable
· He is blessed with amazing consistency that has earned him respect of being an all-time great batsman who is technically sound and professionally an example of all the coming generations
Imran’s Contribution to Society:
· Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital
· Numl University at Mianwali
· Chancellor of the University of Bradford UK
(Everything speaks loud about the multidimensional great. Nothing to say more)
Tendulkar’s Contribution to Society:
· Tendulkar sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through an NGO, Apnalaya
· He devoted 9 hours to the Coca-Cola-NDTV Support My School telethon that raised 7 crore – 2 crore more than the target – for the creation of basic facilities for girl students, in 140 government schools
Response of Political Parties when Imran joined Politics
· Imran has reportedly declined offers of Pervez Musharraf, Nawaz Sharif & Benazir for joining them and adjusting seats even when he had no share in the parliament
· Legends like Wasim Akram joined his party at the very beginning and famous politicians joined him recently
Response of Political Parties when Tendulkar joined Politics
· Only one leader of BJP (Najma Heptullah) welcomed Sachin in Politics, except the ruling party (Congress).
· Even his friends including Manjrekar, Bhogle, Vengsarkar, Bedi and many others did not appreciate his decision
Comparison of both the legends as to why Tendulkar CANNOT be Imran
1. Tendulkar and Imran are great sportsmen however the real difference between these two legends is the attitude. Imran was a true fighter who would never give up and perform exceptionally well under pressure however when it comes to the pressure, Tendulkar struggles
(Watch World Cup final of 1992 for Imran and 2003 & 2011 finals for Tendulkar)
(Watch World Cup final of 1992 for Imran and 2003 & 2011 finals for Tendulkar)
2. He is an extension of a fairy tale of batting records that started from Sunil Gavaskar in India and may be, this is the only reason Imran suggested him, “You should not be playing to break records”. He should have retired after the “ultimate high” of India winning the World Cup. Richards is great because his loves challenges. I don’t need to look at his records. Records are after all statistics and statistics do not matter to great players”. He focuses on challenges, not the records. Whereas, 100th 100 kept Tendulkar confused for more than an year. His reaction after 100th 100 speaks all about the relief he felt after achieving the target although India lost to a weaker side and was axed from Asia Cup because of that slow 100.
3. Tendulkar is a true individual sportsman (100th century is the greatest example where India lost the match because of his slow 100) but Imran was a team player and a leader who was not afraid of risking records like declaring innings when Miandad’s was about to make a triple century (280*) and many other occasions to make an attempt for a victory.
4. Tendulkar lives a day to day life and doesn’t plan much even for his career as he is still reluctant about retirement. However, Imran is a dreamer who dreams of things that have never happened. He believes in attaining the IMPOSSIBLE as he dreamt of winning the world cup in 80s, beating India in India & England in England far before it actually happened
5. Tendulkar has not taken ownership of grooming young players. However, Imran groomed and turned many good to great like Qadir, Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam, Mushtaq and others
6. Tendulkar was a part of a world cup winning side, Imran won the world cup single handedly (others just supported as they say)
7. Tendulkar has never lead from the front, not as captain even. Imran has always done, even in his last game (Final of world cup 1992, the highest runs maker)
8. Tendulkar has never been a match winner but has great records, Imran doesn’t have any great records but has always been a match winner
9. Tendulkar neither speaks loud nor discusses his opinion publically on any matter. Whereas Imran is never afraid of sharing his thoughts even if the entire world is against him
10. Tendulkar is an honorary parliamentarian, Imran contest the elections and won the seat (2002)
11. Tendulkar has no plans to lead the nation through politics, Imran is fighting to find his path & struggling even on the cost of his cricketing repute
12. No one knows Tendulkar’s political affiliation & his political stance. Imran always had an opinion, made best efforts to develop a “pressure group” with the help of top social workers of Pakistan and then constructed a political party that is one of the top three parties of Pakistan
13. Tendulkar wants to be remembered as a person who served sports of India in a best manner (as he said). Imran wants to be remembered as someone who put the nation on track (not only sports)
14. Tendulkar played safe again by opting for an unopposed seat of upper house with the help of ruling party. Imran would always fight. He contested elections. He will fight again and try not only to reserve his seat as parliamentarian but as prime minister. Tendulkar can never even think of becoming prime minister.
15. Tendulkar doesn’t want to sacrifice his repute of being a god of batting. Imran, on the other hand, has absolutely no fear of losing his fame as his cause is greater than Sachin’s.
16. Who knows Tendulkar resigns after 3 years calling politics a cesspool as Mr. Bachchan did. But Imran did not… He will not…
17. Leadership has been Tendulkar’s weakest and Imran’s strongest point. This quality is actually going to decide Imran and Tendulkar’s future and this would actually not let Tendulkar become Imran Khan.
(Article was written on 15th August 2012 - Three months after his nomition for the post. He took oath on 24th December 2012)
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