Lavakare, Manjrekar and other subjects

Sachin versus Bradman:
Hemant Jaswal: hjaswal@rkinc.com: Happy B'day to Sachin. But I could not but agree with Arvind Lavakare that Sachin has to restrain himself. He may have played the saviour in one day games or once in a while in test matches,some heroic innings need still to be played which goes on to make a tangible impression on the result of that game too. Some of Sachin good innings have been in situations which India lost anyway. Even in onedayers Sachin has to score more than the two centuries he has scored away from the sub-continent.But no denying Sachin is a good world-class player but he has to go a long way to even come close to being called a legend.



Sachin versus Bradman:
shantanu kundu: skundu@mercury.noida.hclt.com: Dear sachin A very very happy birthday. Make this year a memorable one by bringing the world cup



Sachin versus Bradman:
Harry: h26@hotmail.com: Be it anything .... Tendulkar is a genius. What so ever the author says, the bottomline is that Bradman himself has said that Sachin Tendulkar's game reminds him of his playing days and his masterly innings. At that time where were your Laras and Kirstens?? Well I'm sure that my article wont be posted as I'm criticizing the author, but than this is worth a point to ponder on!!!!



The Sanjay Manjrekar column:
Vivek Lamba: vlamba@hotmail.com: Sanjay, I dont understand some vedry fundamental question that why can't our team behave like proffessionals ? I believe they are fed with right amount of ingredients of money, praise ...etc. Why the hell we can not produce 15 people out of 100 crores. Do we have to behave like jungalees if the others are like that. If that is the case than it is shame to Indian cricket. Vivek



Sachin versus Bradman:
gurmeet: gurmeetp@hotmail.com: Arvind, I do agree that Gavaskar was & had his own class and he handled various bowling attacks without the use of much protection facilities. But to be frank and to the point , Tendulkar is the master blaster of all times. Never seen a player so ruthless and aggressive a player feared most by any opposition all over the world. Can be termed as a one man army who could demolish any attack . Tell me what use is Gavaskar's 50 over innings wherein he scored 60 or 70 odd and uses the chunk of overs. More or less as good as Ravi Shankar Jaidrath Shastri, who stood tall most of the overs in an Indian innings. Today's game needs that innovation that lacked a few decades ago. Frankly I do not want to take anything any from the Chappels/ Miandad/Gavaskars. But the bottom line is that Richards/Tendulkar/Bradman are born in a country once in lifetime. Thus enjoy and cherish the batting you are seeing, for I believe that it will be a long time before a Tendulkar/Maradona/Bradman is ever born. Regards Gurmeet P.S : Tendulkar happy birthday my prayer and best wishes for you to show your class in this world cup just as much as to bring us the cup and silence the unthankfull few who have the cheek to write the above.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Raj Trivedi: rajtrivedi@wbr.com: Best Wishes always!! to the "Greatest" Good Luck for the forthcoming World Cup I know you alone can inspire your teammates to achieve the impossible.



Sachin versus Bradman:
pinaka karry: ppkarry@hotmail.com: Happy birthday and many more centuries you live and score.



Sachin versus Bradman:
v.n dwarakanath: vndnath@flash.net: a very sobering article on tendulkar.also lost in the wealth of statistics on bradman is the often overlooked fact that bradman did not play in the war years 1939-1945, when he was in peak form. do you think that gavaskar is the greatest opening batsman ever?



Sachin versus Bradman:
Ketan: vketan@hotmail.com: I agree with Mr Lavkare's statistical analysis, HOWEVER a few things come to my mind, one - Saching HIMSELF NEVER said that he is equal to Or BETTER than Bradman, or Gavaskar. Second - His presence in the team inspires confidence in the rest of the 11, something I for one NEVER saw Sunny do, Kapil could BUT Sunny NEVER. Third - Neither Bradman NOR Gavaskar Or for that matter Lara could BOWL !! One would imagine that these 3 factors r enough for the public, press & MTV to sing praises about him. Gavasker to me ALWAYS played for HIS OWN records RARELY if ever for the team, must I remind Mr Lavkare of the India Vs Zimbabew match in the 1987 World Cup when India chasing their target of 138 was supposed to go for the kill from the word go & in the end Kapil had to come out at NO. 3 to do the honours!! As regards Sachin's atrocitous (xcuse the spelling pls!!) shot in the Madras test against Pak, well I'd can think for many similar Gavaskar instances & for that matter Lara's too. So all in all, to be frank & blunt, I don't think the columnist bothers to consider the fact that the man is the BIGGEST team man amongst the lost compared!!!



Sachin versus Bradman:
aditya katkar: a_katkar@hotmail.com: I think you better find another job,you asshole.Go fuck yourself.Tendulkar is the best thing that's ever happened to India.



Sachin versus Bradman:
JAGAN: JAGANMREDDY@HOTMAIL.COM: I DONNO WHO WROTE THIS BUT.. ITS BRODMANN WHO CAMPARED HIMSELF WITH TENDULKAR.. AND NOT TENDULKAR.. AND FOR TENDULKARS CREDIT .. HE SCORED EQUAL NO OF CENTURIES(ALMOST) IN TEST AND ASWELL IN ONDAY.. WHICH WAS A DREAM TO GAVASKAR.. I APPRECIATE YOUR WAY OF ATTAKING TENDULKAR.. BUT ONE MUST AGREE THAT HE IS THE BEST AMONGST INDIAN PLAYERS. THANX AND SORRY IF I AM WRONG, WHICH I DONT FEEL.. JAGAN



Sachin versus Bradman:
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Sachin versus Bradman:
bharath: bpatil@usa.net: one of the worst articles i have ever come across. specious arguments,twisting facts any which way he please the columnist does little justice to his privilege as a journalist to speak his mind. an objective assessment would have talke about the strengths and weaknesses of all three concerned. the columnist doesnt attempt to do anything of the sort. not that i am saying that sachin is the greatest. he is not even at his peak. you have to give him a couple of years more



Sachin versus Bradman:
Amit Patel: keyur1234@hotmail: Happy birthday to you, Sachin. ''Come back with the worldcup99 trophy to our motherland India.



Keeping a watch on Azhar:
sunil: sunildatta@hotmail.com: Karnataka wins the Ranji Trophy for the consecutive third time. This time without the help of Big 4 in in the Indian side. Can I expect a decent article about this?



Sachin versus Bradman:
Anand Mahadevan: adev@lucent.com: arvind, Good article.but I do have a point to make.Gavaskar was never a man of crisis.He definetly had an eye on the record books. My man would be G.R.Vishwanath. He is/was arguably the greatest batsman India has ever produced. Am sure there not many on my side of the fence but Vishy was really the man of crisis. In vishy's time Gavaskar was a mere shadow of vishy. Mere statstics do'nt define class and ratings. A objective judegement of the situation is required. Its too early to judge sachin. No doubting his greatness but the media hype has gone overboard. Thanks Anand



Sachin versus Bradman:
Dravid: dravid1@hotmail.com: Very funny article. Whats he trying to prove? Sachin isnt the best? haha, sure, but hes the best we have at the moment. Try doing the same statistics on Azhar or Jadeja.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Subu Iyer: subu_iyer@yahoo.com: Subject: Unfair I have been a cricket fan for many many years now. I don't believe Tendulkar is the greatest batsman to ever play the game of cricket. But I do think he is the best batsman in the world on current form. Moreover, your comparison of Tendulkar with Gavaskar, the great Don are foolish. I don't buy your argument about MTV generation disliking Don out of disrespect. It is not true. They just haven't seen Don playing and how can you expect them to like Don. If you ask any current generation American about who the best basket ball player is, they would say without even thinking that, it is "Michael Jordan", because they have seen Michael do amazing things. If you ask someone a generation older he would say it was "Wilt Chamberlein". You can't argue with that. Wilt was a great basketball player and so was Michael. It is foolish to compare there statistics. Let me say this much. Cricket is played very differently now than how it was played 10 years ago. It is a lot more different than Don's playing days. The playing conditions are different, the players attitude are different and the competition is different. If your idea was Sachin trashing, you failed real bad my friend. There is no substance in your arguments. I still Sachin is India's best bet for the World Cup. Sachin is the most dominant batsman I have seen on World cricket during my life time, next only to Viv Richards. To Prem Panickar: Prem, get this guy out of here:-) We don't want such demoralizing articles of Indian cricket now!! Go Sachin Go...



Sachin versus Bradman:
SANJAY SRIVASTAVA: SANJAY31065@HOTMAIL.COM: WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. ALL INDIANS WILL PRAY FOR YOU TO BE THE ONLY HERO IN THE WORLD CUP, WHO CAN WIN US A WORLD CUP. THE WAY YOU PUT 100% IN EVERY DEPARTMENT OF THE GAME, PLEASE ENCOURAGE OTHER TEAM MEMBERS ALSO TO PUT ATLEAST 90%. IF THIS CAN BE ACHIEVED WE WILL BE THE WINNER IN WORLD CUP...ALL THE BEST TO YOU AND OUR INDIAN TEAM.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sandeep Rao: srao@cs.umn.edu: I think it is stupid to compare players who didnot play during the same period of time. Comparing players who played in different conditions, different standards of game etc.. If he is really interested in comparing the standards then all aspects should be taken into account for instance it is said that the staying power of Tendulkar is less than that of Gavaskar, in this situation i think the number of matches being played now and then should also be taken into account(b'cos lot more games are being played now than it was at that timeit is but obvious that staying power has to be less). So the real point that i want to make is that it is not worth the effort to compare players from different times.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Venkat C: nxvenka@uswest.com: As every other Indian, I too believe that Tendulkar will beat Gavaskar's and Bradman's record one day.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sreekanth.R: sree_kanth@mailcity.com: This is just non-sense The author seems to be taking out some personal grudge against Sachin, The So called Statistics which he is mentioning are some very rare happenings.Afterall who can forget that in the final league match against australia He braved a dust storm and saw india through to finals. Even in the Finals He single handedly powered india to the victory.How can somebody describe the statement by shane warne after the finals that He is having nightmares of sachin coming down the track and lifting over the fence. And about the test in Chennai,He did what all the other batsmen in the team put together could not do.He made the Victory Visible to indian fans.Ofcourse it was unfortunate that our tail could not score 17 runs with 3 wickets in hand. The Final point is How many matches Has Gavaskar has won for India Single handedly( I can qoute 10s of matches where sachin did it alone.Can the author care to remember Hero-Cup Finals last over?) Please Note that if anybody can make into a dream world team from India even alltime It would be Undoubtedly Sachin



Sachin versus Bradman:
vaibhav: vaibhav_batra@hotmail.com: HI SACHIN,WISHIN U A VERY VERY HAPPY N A LUCKY B'DAY DUDE.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Adheet: agaddama@osf1.gmu.edu: The article may make nice reading but its way off from the truth. I guess you can never really compare non-contemporaries like Sachin & Bradman & decide whos' better. But statistics dont present the whole picture & to draw conclusions solely based on them in unacceptable. I guess if I wanted to, I can show some statistics to prove that even I am better than Sachin.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sumit Kumar Rana: akmar@hotmail.com: Looking at these stats, i have to say that Tendulkar's repution is big hipe by indian media. I mean he is actually averaging under gary kristan and Lara. And we do not see the media go crazy on Gary. Comparing him to Bradman not even acceptable. He is no where close. He is a product of one day and does not have enoug patience required to play a long inning ina test, to cruise hsi team to victory. And yet india relies like only on him and seems like there is no one else in the team.



Sachin versus Bradman:
coolcat: coolcat469@hotmail.com: Mr Arvind Lavakare, What a phony you are!! You have every right to criticize Sachin. And no one, believe me, no one is denying Bradman's greatness or Gavaskar's talent. Your article was foolish in some respects. When you are comparing two things, you have to take all factors that are affecting the two things. I will give you an example where you were utterly foolish and your judgement was made without full information (or is it that you conveniently overlooked). You said when Gavaskar retired, he played 102 One Day Internationals and had an average of 35.41. And Tendulkar after playing the same number of games, has an average of 34.71. My Lavakare, please use your big brains. In the beginning of his career, in One Day Games, Sachin used to play at 4,5,6 positions. When he used to come to bat, he used to have 10-15 overs and sometimes even less. And the demand would be to score faster without caring about his wicket. Compare this to Gavaskar's situation. He always was an opener. Had full 50 overs to bat. He had Srikanth to take care of run rate. If you want to compare, why don't you compare the averages of these two great batsmen when both were openers. And hey, Tendulkar has 17 centuries and numerous match saving innings (don't forget that in sharjah, against Australia, he not only took india to the finals, but won the tournament single handedly against all odds) as an opener. One up for Gavaskar!!! my foot. I agree with you completely when you say Sachin is not even close to Bradman. But who compared Sachin to Bradman first. If you can remember, it is Bradman himself who first made that statement. And again, when you are comparing between 3 different generations, think about the quality of bowling, fielding and strategies. Imagine what Sachin could have done in an age where fielding was just supposed to fetch the ball, not much travelling around the w world (Bradman played most of his games in Australia or England) and hey, Bradman didn't have to get used to so many different bowling attacks. Lets see what you wrote about Tendulkar's innings in Chennai against Pakistan. He single handedly took India to that position. Don't talk about his shot being uttely impetuous and irresponsible. Remember, he was playing those shots all over his career and that innings too. And hey, he was playing with intense back spasms which kept him away from c cricket for two tournaments. And when he was out, did he make any excuses? NO. Did he blame anyone else? NO. He took full responsibility and according to some sources, he was inconsolable in the dressing room. Don't you question his committment from the luxury of your A.C equipped office. For god's sake, if you ar criticizing someone, let it be a genuine one. I have no idea how Rediff people have let you publish this article. It doesn't take a genius to realize that Sachin is much better than what you made him out to be in your article.



The Dean Jones column:
Ketan: vketan@hotmail.com: My dear Mr Jones, I for one am in no position to comment on Bob Simpson's appointment as Indian coach, BUT the thing is I for one have failed to see ANY kind of results whatsoever, NOT TO MENTION the fact that he has HARDLY been with the team on their tours. I mean what kind of a coach does spend 6 months with the team & DRAW a FULL YEAR's salary, u guess it, Indian team's!!!



Sachin versus Bradman:
Vishal: : Hello Arvind, To begin with, it seems you have collected a lot of cricket information and laid down the statistics. Good work, finding what Bradman scored in one seried without helmet with all those great fast bowlers around. But what you tried to draw seemed STUPID. Well Bradman is the greatest, no doubt and statistics support him. I am a die hard fan of Tendulkar and have been following the game of cricket for 17 years now. Ofcourse it must not be a lot, seems you have been watching cricket since Bradman started playing. Gavaskar, was also one of my favorites, a player with good temparement and probably a cool headed player with a lot of patience. Anyways i dont want to comment on Bradman or Gavaskar. They are great players and will always be remembered. Talking about Sachin Tendulkar - STAYING POWER. Well do you understand what staying power is? I doubt it. You wouldnt have doubted that if you would have seen the Coco Cola Cup played in Sharjah in last April, infact on his b'day. If you would have seen Sachin bat in the final league match and the FINALE against the Aussies you would not have dared to write a column about him. If will power was needed, you should have seen Sachin, if temperament was needed you should have seen Sachin, if determination was needed you should have seen Sachin. Well, i feel sorry for you for trying to write such a useless column, maybe to get attention. Well, the Bradman who himself saif that Sachin's play reminds him of his own days.... i guess one should understand what gifted cricketer he is. You were trying to compare his statistics with Lara, Kirsten, Anwar, Waugh...well these are all players in their own class. Sachin is a DIFFERENT CLASS! you came out with the stats. for his averages upto 102 or so one dayers to Gavaskar. But did you see what was their difference in STRIKE RATES ( i hope you understand this term). Also Gavaskar was an opener. When Sachin started opening in one-dayers just go and look at his average. It is well above the other guys. Compare the # of matches he has played to those of Lara, Kirsten, Anwar. Then you might realize what a blunder you made after making such a comment. If you were trying to be a critique, you should have had a complete understanding of the game. You were talking about the way Sachin got out against the Pak's. But you dint see the pain he was in and the effort he put in to get india so close. I was unhappy too coz india lost against Pak's but nothing to take away from the Little Champ. Cricket is a mind game, keep that in mind. I have so many comments on each and every paragraph of yours but i dont feel like making them anymore. Well to end it with - SACHIN TENDULKAR is a CLASS.



Sachin versus Bradman:
sriram: koodhi@mailcity.com: i totally agree with the writer( i might be the only other indian sharing his opinion though!!) sachin never wins a match for india(there are a very very few exceptions to this - sharjan vs australia for example). and champions need to win matches singlehandedly for their country. lets face it sachin is never there to score the last run!!!

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