Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Only one blemish in Sachin’s otherwise clean career' that was published in Newsband

Only one blemish in Sachin’s otherwise clean career

Sachin Tendulkar became a sporting icon due to his feats on the cricket field. Tendulkar rose as an unprecedented nationwide hero-phenomenon. For a generation starved of heroes, and short on confidence, he served as a source of inspiration and motivation. Even when Indian cricket got mired in charges of fixing and bribery, Tendulkar was left untouched. He deserved the extraordinary outpouring of emotions at his farewell match on his home ground in Mumbai. He is deservedly being honoured with the Bharat Ratna. He was rightly nominated to Parliament last year.

At 40, the cricket icon is the youngest ever to receive the award. His performance in the field of cricket was so powerful that many held him indirectly responsible for our lack of performance in Olympics since Indian masses got more inspired by Sachin than by sportspersons like Saina Nehwal, Sushil Kumar or Abhinav Bindra. He was instrumental in making a game played by only 7-8 nations more attractive than sports played by all the countries of the world.

Some people say that Bharat Ratna should have been reserved for better cause than for cricket which is more as an entertainment than sports. But Sachin took cricket to such a high level that the entire country was united in applauding Sachin’s style of playing this sport. Sachin did what no political leader could ever do. He was instrumental in uniting all our countrymen.  

Sachin is one of the best sportsmen of our country. No doubt about that. But he had made only one mistake in his life and career. He had surrendered his captaincy due to his inefficiency in concentrating in batting while doing the job of captaincy. That’s the only drawback in his entire career which is otherwise without any blemish. But Sachin is human, not a God, and hence may be forgiven for this blemish.

Sachin deserves the Bharat Ratna that has been bestowed on him by the Central Government. Whether Dhyan Chand should have got that award before him is debatable.

Whether Sachin's achievements are on the same platform as JRD Tata, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Vinoba Bhave is debatable.  But when scientific achievements (C. V. Raman, CNR Rao), film making (Satyajit Ray), artistic excellence (Lata Mangeshkar, Bismillah Khan, Bhimsen Joshi) are eligible for Bharat Ratna, why not sports achievements?

There is no doubt about the fact that giving Bharat Ratna to Tendulkar is a highly obvious political move bearing the elections in mind. It could have been given to him a year or two back. Why now?

Anyway, this phenomenal cricketer is part of India's identity and is venerated in country and abroad. He already is a Bharat Ratna in true sense. With his phenomenal game and unblotted career he has set up a true example and inspiration for present and future generations. We can have an award after his name in few years. Such is his credibility. Presenting him the Bharat Ratna is the right decision.