15 November 1989 was a date which every Indian cricket fan fondly remembers. A 16-year-old unknown Mumbaikar walked out to bat in his first ever international Test for India against Pakistan at Karachi. 27 years later, there is not a single person, apart from Maria Sharapova probably who does not know who Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is.
As we fondly reminisce Sachin’s debut match, we cannot help but think about the fact that being a batsman was not his number one choice. As we all know, his dream was to be a fast bowler. It was only until former Australian legend Dennis Lillee advised him to concentrate on his batting rather than his bowling.
So, what would have happened if Lillee had not given him this advice? What if Sachin Tendulkar never became a batsman?
#5 He would have been playing first-class cricket
If it were not for Dennis Lillee and Sachin’s brother Ajit Tendulkar, Sachin Tendulkar would continue his quest to become a fast bowler. We would not have seen him come out at no. 4 in Tests or open the batting in ODIs. In fact, we probably would not have seen him don the Indian blue or white at all.
Given the fact that the Indian team produced successful fast bowlers such as Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad during Sachin Tendulkar’s time, Sachin would have been restricted to first-class cricket and not found too much success. Yes, he would have won 11 Ranji Trophies with Mumbai but would have never lifted the World Cup which India won in 2011.
#4 Shane Warne would not have had nightmares
Australia produced one of the greatest spinners in the world in the form of Shane Warne. At the end of an illustrious career which spanned over 15 years, Warne became the second highest wicket taker in the history of cricket with 708 Test wickets to his name.
But, just like any other cricketer, Warne had a weak spot as well. Unfortunately, his weak spot was in the form of the greatest batsmen of all time. Warne had a torrid time bowling to Sachin as he conceded a lot of runs and rarely managed to dismiss him.
But, if Sachin was not in the picture at all, Warne would have had a lot more success than what he already has, and might have just overtaken Muttiah Muralitharan’s record to become the highest wicket-taker in the world.
#3 Rahul Dravid would have been India’s best batsman
Its possible that Rahul Dravid must have felt hard done by the fact that he was always in the shadow of Sachin Tendulkar despite being one of India’s best batsmen and amassing over 23000 runs in both formats combined.
Dravid provided the much-needed balance in the Indian middle order and saved India’s blushes numerous times in Test matches. His performance in the 4-0 drubbing which India received at the hands of England in 2011 will be fondly remembered for years to come.
If Sachin Tendulkar was present in the Indian team, Dravid, without a doubt, would have been India’s best batsman and would have received the recognition he truly deserved.
#2 No sandstorm at Sharjah
There were many instances where a Sachin Tendulkar century went in vain due to the lack of support by the other batsman. One such instance was in the Coca-Cola Cup of 1997-98 at Sharjah where Sachin took the attack to the Australian bowlers, especially Shane Warne, and smashed his way to a stupendous knock of 143.
Despite this, India failed to win the match, or qualify for the final, as none of the other batsmen even managed a half-century to their name.
So, we could only imagine what would have happened if Sachin Tendulkar was a mere domestic cricketer rather than India’s main batman.
#1 Virat Kohli would not have taken up cricket as a career
Many cricketers who we see in the domestic and international circuit today took up cricket because of Sachin Tendulkar, and one such man was Virat Kohli. Time and again, India’s current Test captain has gone on to mention that the Master Blaster was his idol growing up and the reason he took up cricket as a career was because of Sachin himself.
“When playing cricket as kids, we all pretend to be a particular player. I always wanted to be Sachin. I wanted to bat like him, so I tried to copy the shots he played and hit sixes the way he used to hit them. He was the one player that always made me think that I want to bat like him,” Kohli had said in an exclusive interview with The Hindu a couple of years ago,
If not for Sachin, Kohli might not have gotten inspired to take up cricket. He might have gone a different way and thus we would not have seen one of the greatest finishers in world cricket today.
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