NEWS
GROUNDS
COLUMNS
MATCH REPORTS
INTERVIEWS
ENEMY CAMP
GALLERY
SCHEDULE
FORUM

Tendulkar must talk tough

The word is out on the international circuit again. It was said during the World Cup and it is being talked about quite openly here in Australia. India are the most passive team in world cricket, they are soft and they are easily pricked under pressure. India's cricketers have heard this as well and quite predictably, they do not like it. But they need to look inwards and they need to be honest.

On ABC Radio here, and in his newspaper columns, Peter Roebuck (who I consider to be the best cricket writer in the world) has said that if he was coach of this Indian team, he would, before all else, send them to Kerala to learn the martial arts. He is convinced, and it is a theory that I have embraced for a while myself, that the Indians need something to bring out the aggression in them. They need to be stirred. They need to be torrential rivers, not lakes out of picture postcards.

The analogy with the postcards is deliberate because the Indians are very pretty, attractive tourists. Their cricket may not be substantial, but it is good looking, they are very well behaved and they make friends easily. And they lose. But the tide is changing. In the world of modern sport, you are respected when you are competitive; when you trade a punch for a punch and do it when things are stacked against you. India are very good in their backyard, they are terrible overseas and they are losing respect. The martial arts theory is not a ridiculous one. Everytime we get an uncomfortable theory, we race to the dustbin. It is the classic defensive strategy and we now have new clothes for it. 'We know what is best for us' is the new anthem. It is a poor one for a closed mind is not a forward looking mind.

We are also a nation of followers. Through the middle ages, through rigid prescriptions of society, till fifty-two years ago when the last of several overseas rulers left us, our history has been one of acceptance. We like to be led and probably work best when we are. It has made us a docile people and we are only spurred into action by powerful dictatorial forces. Trains ran on time, remember, when Indira Gandhi imposed the emergency.

And our cricket reflects our social moorings quite perfectly. The best teams from the sub-continent have always been led by dictatorial people; powerful and charismatic people who did not want a second opinion. Sri Lanka's only really successful period came under Arjuna Ranatunga. Before Imran Khan came along, Pakistan had an unmatched display of talent. But before him, they won nothing. As the single leader, he converted a lesser team into a world-beating side. When the leader went the team collapsed and it hasn't been till Wasim Akram assumed a similar role that they started to turn around again.

India haven't been so lucky. Under Tiger Pataudi, they achieved more success than their quality demanded. Since his time, we haven't had a single strong leader and the musical chairs between Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev harmed our cricket immeasurably. And in spite of his great skill, Mohammad Azharuddin was a modest man; he did not have the personality to create a team of followers.

That is why Sachin Tendulkar needs to be more assertive for he alone has the stature to command his men to perform. Indian cricket needs orders, not encouragement and only one man can do that without fear of an uprising. But he needs to be heard and for that he must speak out. At the moment, he is running the risk of being the "good boy"; the leader who takes what he gets. With bat in hand, he is his own man and they love him all over the world. But as Ian Chappell used to say, a good captain has to be a captain off the field. He has to fight for his men everywhere for that is when he will earn their respect.

It will not be easy for Tendulkar, for the men who run our cricket are like medieval courtiers; plotting and scheming, unaware that their actions nurture the downfall of their kingdom. Or maybe they are aware and, the little minds that they are, they are quite happy with small wins. Is that why we have been, and remain, a nation of chieftains?

You can be sure that the moment Tendulkar raises his voice and demands action; good pitches, competitive first class cricket, lesser one-day cricket, they will start whispering. Like in our political system, within the BCCI as well, people derive power out of instability. Only Tendulkar can go against the flow. He needs to be a general, not just the best warrior. To protect our cricket, he needs to go beyond being the best cricketer in the world and become a leader of men. To do that, he needs to embrace a world beyond cricket itself.

We have been passive for too long. And I know that Tendulkar doesn't like it. He needs to be heard.

Harsha Bhogle