Sachin Tendulkar in now officially an MP. He was sworn in on Monday and said all the right things in the ceremony after his speech. Among the pertinent points he made was that he would try and help bring in changes in sports other than cricket for good, and that doing it would mean a lot to him. However, he also reiterated that he will do such things only when only when he gets time in between his cricketing assignments. This is wherethe entire hullabaloo over Tendulkar’s elevation to a politician being a historic move seems out of place.
True, Tendulkar fans the world over as well as the BCCI has supported the Indian maestro’s nomination to Parliament. After all it is a big honour for them. However, the big question remains as to whether the master blaster will actually be able to contribute to the Parliamentary proceedings in any way or bring about the changes he desires to. The answer seems a resounding no.
It is a fact that with the seemingly unending amount of cricket being played these days, cricketers hardly get any time to spend with their families. In fact, they are playing some game or the other for 11 out of 12 months. As if that isn’t tough enough, most of the players are also part of the IPL, the CLT20 and similar domestic leagues. With such tight schedules, things are only getting worse for the players. How can we expect someone like Tendulkar, who plays both Test and ODI cricket as well as the IPL, to take time out to attend proceedings in the Parliament, leave alone performing his duties? This should be given aserious thought at by those expecting Tendulkar to perform miracles during his tenure as an MP.
One isn’t blaming Tendulkar for accepting the nomination, for it is a big honour for anyone to be nominated to Parliament. However, at the same time, it must be remembered that Indian celebrities, in particular those from the sporting and entertainment field, have done little to improve the condition of the country despite being given opportunities to do so. Take the case of Bollywood stars like Hema Malini, Dharmendra and Govinda, all of whom have failed to live upto expectations. Ex-cricketers like Mohammad Azharuddin and Navjot Sidhu have only fared slightly better. Intriguingly, these stars had a more free time as compared to Tendulkar.
If Tendulkar canbalance his cricketing assignments with those of his political duties, it will be nothing short of a miraculous effort. However, that would be expecting too much even of Tendulkar. Better to accept the fact that his nomination is just of academic interest, and a feel good gesture to reward a great career.
- By a Cricket Analyst
