USTAD SACHIN TENDULKAR – The musician in cricket
Whenever I see Tendulkar I am reminded of Ustad Zakir Hussain for more than one reasons. Being a huge cricket fan myself, having played cricket in my school days and also being a musician I feel I have the right to compare these 2 giants in their respective fields. I have watched both of them closely while they perform their duties. Both of them have many things in common, both are completely committed to their field, both are immensely passionate about their playing and both have a common cause – of making all Indians proud, with their talent and above all their humility.
My earlier memory of sachin is when he first appeared on television as a fierce batsman hitting Abdul Quadir’s leg spins out of the park in Pakistan. I realized in that very match that India has found a great talent in him. His exquisite timing, footwork and elegance had me in awe. I remember his flicks off the pad against Imran, Waqar and Akram as the most delectable. His late-cuts off the spinners have always been a treat to watch. His plus point always has been his ability to remain calm and cool even in the most demanding of situations. And the array of shots that he can produce is simply unimaginable. There was a time after Gavaskar exited from cricket and my seniors would point out that the straight bat shots were gone with him. Sachin not only took off from where Gavaskar had left but surpassed him with glorious results. I was always a fan of azharuddin for his flicks off the pads, a shot with his tongue out, which always resulted in a boundary. I used to watch him in the nets in Hyderabad where I used to practice, but sachin’s flicks off the pads became much more lethal, serene and effortless and I think that’s because sachin added that bit of extra power from his lower hand which gave him the option of placing the ball more accurately. Likewise he improvised many more cricketing shots like the leg-glance, the sweep and the drives so as to fetch more runs depending on the field placement.,
Coming back to the simili between the ustad and the little master both have an acute sense of anticipation which is undoubtedly the most important quality needed for both a batsmen as well as a musician. Zakir bhai’s mind reading and anticipatory skills are quite evident when he is accompanying Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pandit Hariprasad Chourasia. He simply catches the main artiste’s thoughts within a fraction of a second and then just lets his flow of music to get interspersed with theirs to create magic. His sawaal-jawaabs with the other artistes on the stage are simply mind boggling irrespective whether it is Mandolin srinivas, John McLaughlin, Hindustani, carnatic, western or any other artiste/music around the world. This acute sense of anticipation makes him the Ustaad that he is. This very quality of guessing the opponent’s thoughts also becomes utmost essential, even for a cricketer. And that, sachin has in abundance. So, most often than not we see other batsmen struggling to play a particular bowler but sachin makes it look so effortless because not only has he the ability to guess what is going on in the bowler’s mind but also has the ability to dominate the proceedings to such an extent that we see the bowlers as well as the fielding captain struggling to contain his shots. Just like the Ustaad, sachin also seems so friendly and encouraging on the field that his presence itself boosts the morale of his team mates.
Some of his shots can be compared to the sound of different music if I may dare to. The paddle sweep shot mostly played against the off-spinners reminds me of the ‘trill’ of a santoor. His late-cut and cover drives remind me of the ‘murkis’ of Pandit Basavaraj Rajguru, perfect in timing, perfect in elegance and in one single flow. Some of his on drives and extra cover drives remind me of the strong and long Taans of none other than Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. They are simply majestic and full of strength and confidence. His lofty drives, his pulls, his signature lift shot over the third man remind me of Ustaad Zakir, simply because the shots are so perfect and well carved that nobody else can reproduce the way he does them.
After completing his hundredth hundred, sachin has achieved something impossible. A daunting task to say the least. All in all let us salute the Ustaad of cricket, who has given millions of Indians such a great thing to feel proud through his achievement. How I wish someone could actually compose a symphony on the shots of sachin. Choose from the wide array of shots, slow-mo them and write music, an interesting thought isn’t’ it?
