Sachin Tendulkar's impressive performances in the ongoing Test series against
England has made Michael Atherton eat his words as the former cricketer has expressed
"great admiration" for the Indian, admitting he had matured to be "a
very fine player now".
"Watching Tendulkar bat throughout this series has been a curious business;
his decline at once obvious and yet, since that decline has been accompanied by
two telling innings, there comes with it a greater admiration," Atherton
wrote in a British newspaper 'Daily Telegraph'.
"'Decline' is a relative term, of course. It is simply
that Tendulkar is now a very fine player rather than a very great one,"
he said after the Indian scored 217 runs and also picked some crucial wickets
in the three-match series.
Atherton had joined the intense debate started by former Australian
captain Ian Chappell on whether Tendulkar should call it a day in the aftermath
of his poor showing in the World Cup by writing a column in the paper under
the headline "Sachin Tendulkar, now just a comic hero".
Atherton had also doubted that if sponsorship deals were among
the reasons that was keeping Tendulkar going in cricket.
"The truth is that Tendulkar has been marketed as a brand
for some time. There are many interested parties who are keen to see Tendulkar
wearing India's colours for a while yet...
"There are only two reasons for carry on playing: if you
are good enough, and if you still love the game. Only Tendulkar knows whether
that love is alive. Everyone else is painfully aware that, despite his new super-hero
status, his powers are very much on the wane," Atherton had said.
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