In terms of his talent, his record and his conduct, Sachin Tendulkar is often held up as a model cricketer worthy of being considered one of the greatest of all time. Perhaps even the very greatest. And yet, behind the earnest, Pepsi-friendly façade, there is a darker side to Tendulkar. Here, today, Telegraph Sport shatters the myth of Tendulkar’s greatness by picking through the deep-seated flaws in his career and his character. Blind, slavish devotees of the Little Master may want to look away now.
1) We all know that Tendulkar has never scored a century at Lord’s and, after his recent double failure, will probably never do so. We also know that Ajit Agarkar and Stuart Broad have. We will gloss over both those facts. But nor has he ever scored a century at The Oval. Or the Rose Bowl. Or Cardiff. Or Bristol. Or Northampton. Or Whitgift. In fact, so long is the list of venues where Tendulkar has not scored a century that it is reasonable to ask: has he ever scored a century at all? His disciples will argue that he has. It is time their claims got the scrutiny they deserved.
2) Tendulkar’s career statistics are indeed impressive. But they have been luxuriantly massaged by big scores against Test minnows such as Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Australia. Exclude these teams from his Test figures, and indeed all other teams, and his average drops to 0.00 from a total of 0 innings. And this is the man some want to anoint as the greatest in history. With a record like that, it is hard to see why, other than an irrational emotional attachment to his cute little face.
3) Tendulkar has never won the Ashes. How can he possibly be considered one of the greatest players of all time if he has not won the biggest prize in the game? In fact, Telegraph Sport can reveal that Tendulkar has never even been picked for an Ashes series, which shows what the selectors make of his so-called ‘genius’.
4) Tendulkar may have made a huge volume of Test runs, but as many will tell you, he has enjoyed far easier circumstances than many of his counterparts in other eras. In fact, for his entire career, Tendulkar has taken advantage of an arcane ICC by-law that allows him to use a bat four feet wide and six inches thick. This explains why so many onlookers assume that Tendulkar is small; he is, in fact, 6ft 3in.
5) Tendulkar has been strongly implicated in the News of the World phone hacking scandal. In fact, it is alleged that he was mediating between Andy Coulson and Glenn Mulcaire at the time of the worst transgressions. Leaked emails from Tendulkar to Mulcaire reveal the full extent of Tendulkar’s involvement: “Glenn, it’s Sachin again. Could you do Gordon Ramsay next? And maybe Jamie Oliver as well. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall – but of course that goes without saying. Leave off Delia, though, my wife loves her.” Are these the actions of a role model? No, no, no, no, and no.
