Thaindian News

Washington, March 18 (IANS) Hailing Sachin Tendulkar’s feat of scoring 100 centuries, Time magazine has joined issue with those seeking his retirement saying the Indian cricket legend has “earned the right to keep going, to keep achieving.”

“For Tendulkar, arguably cricket’s greatest-ever batsman, the pursuit of this ‘ton of tons’ has been unusually tortuous,” noted the US magazine’s Indian-born editor-at-large Bobby Ghosh in an article hailing “Ton-dulkar! A New Landmark For Cricket’s Greatest.”

But “His talent is so immense, there was never any doubt he would get there, it was only a question of when and where,” he said writing about “Tendulkar, cricket’s greatest batsman, reaches another mark.”

“Now that he has, some will cavil that the occasion did not match the achievement: he got the runs against Bangladesh, one of the minnows of the game,” Ghosh said dismissing it as “all nonsense” as “Great sporting achievements set their own landmark: they don’t need to occur on especially haloed turf and at an especially propitious hour.”

“If history is any guide, now the pressure’s off, Tendulkar will hit a purple patch of form, scoring hundreds with his customary aplomb,” Ghosh wrote.

“That’s a terrifying thought for bowlers everywhere, and a delicious prospect for all those who love the game, for when Tendulkar bats without a monkey on his back, he elevates the sport into art,” he said.

Arguing that Tendulkar is “fit, and his legendary appetite for runs remains undiminished,” Ghosh said, “Having borne the weight of his nation’s dreams for so long, and with such uncomplaining grace, Tendulkar has earned the right to keep going, to keep achieving.”

“Don’t encumber him now with speculation of retirement. Let Sachin play,” he exhorted.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)