Test cricket needs to be more engaging, ODI is becoming monotonous too: Sachin Tendulkar
New Delhi (PTI): Sachin Tendulkar feels in order to keep the primacy and attractiveness of Test cricket intact, one shouldn't look at in how many days the match ends, but instead the focus should be on garnering more eyeballs.
The legendary cricketer is also finding current ODI cricket, a bit of a drag and wouldn't mind a change in format.
Three of the Border-Gavaskar Tests between India and Australia recently ended inside two-and-a-half days, leading to a massive criticism of pitches, but Tendulkar said it is part and parcel of cricketer's job to play on different surfaces.
"We need to understand one thing that Test cricket should be engaging and it should not be about how many days it lasts, five days or whatever. We (cricketers) are meant to play on different surfaces; be it a bouncy track, a fast track, slow track, turning track, swinging conditions, seaming conditions with different balls," opined Tendulkar on Sports Tak.
He also said that at a time when the ICC, MCC and other cricketing bodies are talking about making Test cricket entertaining and the the No.1 format, there was no harm in matches ending in three days. Besides, touring teams should no think that they will get featherbeds and they should make thorough preparations.
"When you tour, there are not easy conditions. You need to understand what's happening, assess everything and then start planning things. For me, the most important factor is the kind of surface that we play on because that is the heart of Test cricket.
"All the guys, including the ICC, MCC, etc, we are talking about Test cricket. How Test cricket can continue to be the No.1 format. So, if we want that, then we need to have something for the bowlers because bowlers ask a question (off) every ball and the batter has to answer that. So, if that question itself is not interesting enough, how are you going to have more eyeballs.
He indicated sports should be result-oriented and everyone should go home knowing "who won, who lost".
"We should not be bothered too much about number of days. I feel it should be whether the match was exciting enough or not. Nobody wants to go back home not knowing who has won and who has lost," added Tendulkar.
He also said there was no harm in giving the new ball to a spinner if the surface so demanded.
"Instead of a fast bowler bowling an opening spell, why cannot a spinner be bowling a wonderful spell. It's just a different kind of surface we are playing on and that should also be challenging enough for batters to go out there and express themselves ... if somebody has batted well, he gets runs, simple."
ODI CRICKET GETTING MONOTONOUS
With former India coach Ravi Shastri wanting ODI cricket to change with the times and be made a 40-over-a-side affair, Tendulkar agreed that the format was getting monotonous and suggested a way to make it entertaining.
"It's getting monotonous, without a doubt. There are two parts to it. One is the current format and the next which I feel that should be played.
"The current format, which has been there for a while now is two new balls (per innings). When you have two new balls, you have kind of eliminated reverse swing. Even though, we are in the 40th over of the game, it's just the 20th over of that ball. And the ball only starts reversing around the 30th over. That element is missing today because of two new balls. The current format, I feel, is heavy on bowlers."
Right now, the game is becoming too predictable. From the 15th to the 40th over its losing its momentum. It's getting boring.
He opined, that while there was no harm in retaining the 50-over format, teams should alternate between batting and bowling after every 25 overs, as that will give the opponents level-playing ground and take toss, dew factor and other conditions out of the equation.
"So, both teams bowl in the first and the second half. Commercially too it more viable as there will be three innings breaks instead of two."
SHOULD SALIVA BE ALLOWED AGAIN?
Tendulkar advocated that with the Covid-19 pandemic history now, the ICC should reverse its rule on disallowing the use of saliva to shine the ball.
"I am no medical expert but I think it should (saliva) be back because its happened over 100 years. Guys have used saliva and nothing drastic has happened. A couple of years in between were challenging and rightly so that decision (to ban use of saliva to polish the ball) was taken, but now it's (Covid-19) behind us," opned Tendulkar.
Asked if he sees himself becoming a BCCI administrator in the future, Tendulkar said, Maine itni zyada fast bowling nahin ki hai (I have never bowled so fast ever)... because (ex-BCCI president) Sourav (Ganguly) still considered himself a fast bowler," said Tendulkar in jest.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
