While the novel COVID-19 or coronavirus outbreak has massively hit the daily routine of the world, the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar believes that Test cricket can give us the best lesson to move on from this tough situation.
More than 250,000 people have been affected due to the coronavirus outbreak, while more than 10,000 people have lost their lives. It is spreading globally rapidly as more and more coronavirus cases have been added daily.
In India, more than 200 coronavirus cases have been listed while five deaths have been reported.
Due to this tough condition, the world is taking rest through shutting down daily life. The global events, including the Indian and other countries’ sports events, have also been affected as most of the events have been postponed.
Sachin Tendulkar has recently requested to the people to come down, stay safe and learn from the Test cricket how to handle the unfamiliar situation.
The most run-scorer in international cricket history, Tendulkar told the TOI, “Cricket is a unique sport. Most sports compete against each other for fans’ attention, but cricket competes with ever-evolving versions of itself. There has been much debate about the relevance of Test Cricket in the fast-paced T20 world. While the world battles the Covid-19 pandemic, this is probably the time for all of us to draw lessons from the grand old format of the game.
“Test cricket rewards you for respecting what you don’t understand. It makes you value the virtue of patience. When you don’t understand the pitch conditions or the bowler, defence comes the best form of attack.”
Tendulkar feels that patience is the key to defend well during an unfamiliar situation.
He added, “Patience is what we require now if we have to defend well. In my entire life as a professional cricketer and beyond, I never thought I would see anything like this. Cricket in India and globally has come to a complete standstill.”
Everything else can wait: Sachin Tendulkar
Tendulkar also talked about the importance of the teamwork in this tough situation. While each one can protect itself with the help of self-awareness, the virus can also be stopped from spreading if everyone responsibly plays their role.
Tendulkar claimed, “To use a cricketing metaphor, while individual brilliance can help a team in shorter formats of the game, in Test cricket it is all about partnerships and teamwork.
“If a batter faces the easy overs and keeps letting the partners take on menacing bowlers, then he or she may score runs and remain unbeaten, but the innings will collapse. This is a valuable lesson for us to learn from.
“Everything else can wait. We need to not just look after ourselves but be responsible and considerate towards those around us too.
“Some of us may have higher immunity, but by not taking necessary precautions, we may end up being the vector and transmitting the virus to older people or those whose bodies may not have the resistance to the virus.”
Apart from scoring most international runs (34,357 runs), Sachin Tendulkar is also the most Test (15,921 runs) and ODI run-scorer (18,426 runs). The former Indian cricketer played international cricket from 1989 to 2013 where he played 200 Tests, 463 ODIs and only T20I.