Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes the team was over-reliant on the shoulders of young Sachin Tendulkar in the mid-90s. Tendulkar was often the lone warrior for the team and once he got out, the chances of India winning the match considerably dropped down. There is no doubt in the fact the talisman right-hander didn’t get the support from the other end as he mostly fought single-handedly.
Manjrekar feels Sachin was a special talent and he was talk of the town since his formative years in the game. Sachin had taken giant strides in his early years and he was one of those batsmen who liked to take the attack on the opposition. Manjrekar who played with the Master Blaster added that his Mumbai teammate had the skills to even hit the good balls for boundaries.
Sachin Tendulkar was class above everyone.
Tendulkar was able to dominate the world-class bowlers and he made a name for himself. The right-hander had all the skills and he was able to hog the limelight in the early phase of his career.
Manjrekar added that Tendulkar was able to change the mindset of the batsmen. Sanjay opined that Sachin had set the benchmark to hit the ground running.
“Unfortunately, by 96/97, the team was really too dependent on (Sachin) Tendulkar. Because, you know, he was damn consistent. And he was India’s first batsman who was able to dominate and hit good balls for runs,” Sanjay Manjrekar said while talking to Ravinchandran Ashwin in Instagram Live Interaction.
“Until then, India was about defensive batting and putting the bad balls away, like Sunil Gavaskar. A couple of sessions of giving respect to the bowler and then, you know, as they tire out, you get a loose ball and you score off it. Sachin would hit a good ball from a quality bowler on the up for four,” the Mumbai batsman added.
Manjrekar added that Tendulkar was super consistent as he got his runs in almost every condition. It was difficult to dismiss the right-hander as he was technically correct and hardly had a chunk in his armor.
Sachin Tendulkar had hogged the limelight.
“Sachin’s greatness at that time was that his failures were so rare and right through his career. That is a hallmark of a great batsman. Sachin getting out was a very rare thing,” Manjrekar added.
Sachin was able to prove his mettle at an early age as he impressed from the get-go. The linchpin got a chance to open in New Zealand and made a blistering 80 in tough conditions. Subsequently, he scored centuries in England and Australia and the world was talking about him.
“Sachin Tendulkar the batsman made his debut in 89. In just about a year… he got an 80 in New Zealand, he got his first hundred in England and by 91/92, the world was looking at him as a world-class player. The age was always a factor, just 17 years old. And the way he was dominating quality attacks. For us in the team, there was no doubt that this guy was in a different league,” Manjrekar said.
Tendulkar went on to break all the records in the book and went down as one of the finest batsmen ever to have embraced the game.