Bharat Ratna Sachin - More than just a cricketer

Day before yesterday the genius created a record which will take some doing to break.

Suddenly there were quite a few voices demanding the government to confer Bharat Ratna on the greatest batsman of this era.  TV, newspapers everywhere it was Sachin Aala Re type programmes.  I too switched channels to try and take in the views of 3 channels at a time.  Than god for the remote control. 

There are a few questions which continue to raise their head after any batsman breaks some record.  I am trying to put my views forth on some of them.

• Is Sachin the Greatest Batsman of all times ?

The Answer to this question is no because a cetain Don Bradman is sitting at the top. whatever may be the reasoning, we should just give one look at his average and then keep the counsel to ourselves.  Don averaged 99 when his contemporaries (facing same conditions and playing on same pitches) scored in mid 50's.  Sachin averages mid 50's and is comparable with his contemporaries. There are many players in same average range.  You can open any trivia site to study the records.

• Is Sachin the next best after Bradman?

The answer to this question is more difficult.  It is easier for the averages to speak for Don when compared with others. Even if we discount Don, he occupies 7th spot in terms of averages for those players who have played over 50 tests.  In such a case, would you crown him the next best - I will leave it to the opinion of Fans.  Fans are a different breed.

• Is Sachin best batsman since 1970's.

The answer to this question is even more complicated than the previous one.  He ranks third as per above list after Sobers and Sangakara (Sobers played till 1974).  If we discount Sir Garry since he played for the maximum period before 1970 then it would be a fair assessment to say that Sachin has the best average.  I am not including Sangakara here because the number of test matches that Sachin has played are a lot more and the difference is less than 0.4.  But the averages do not still give the complete picture.  As per averages Chanderpaul of Windies is a better batsman than the legendary opening combination of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes.

Best Batsman in which category. (comparisons)

Destructive - Our own Viru and one certain Sir Vivian Richards.
Opener - Our own Sunny sir, Mathew Hayden
Middle Order - Sir Vivian Richards and Lara
Technique - Sunny bhai, Sir Vivian Richards, Rahul Dravid

Then what makes him unique :

1. His humility and his hunger to score more and more
2. His clean image and conduct
3. His ability to bring smiles to 1 billion Indians
4. His longevity and the sheer volume of runs he has scored
5. The sheer volume of runs will not be overhauled in quite some time.
6. His ability to come back after injuries and become a better batsman.
7. His ability to excel in all forms of game be it Test, One Dayer and 20-20.
8. His presence in the team has a calming influence on all.
9. He stands for all good things in life
10. He is one person who stands out like a light tower in the midst of so many scandals and corruption cases.

People had conferred Ratna of Bharat on Sachin long long time ago.  Government can do whenever they please.  Going by the standards, it is either for 70+ or for those gone.