Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (To quit or not to quit?) that was published in Newsband

To quit or not to quit?

Sachin Tendulkar has contributed immensely to Indian Cricket for two decades. During this period he has acquired the title ‘the master blaster’. He displayed his superior class and brilliance to his countless fans in India and around the globe. He has faced all types of bowlers and most of the time he made his bat dominate over the ball.

But what went wrong with Sachin during the recent two-match Test series against New Zealand? He was not the same Sachin whom we had been witnessing for last twenty years.  He appeared like a man who is into the evening of his career. His body doesn’t seem to cooperate with him. His reflexes are become poor. It seems that he just can’t perform the way he would do in the past although he is trying his best.

Even if Sachin fails to dazzle anymore, he has no need to worry since his name is printed in golden letters in the history book of World cricket. In addition to being the highest run scorer in both formats of the game, Sachin's record of 100 international centuries is not easy to break. He is the first batsman to break the 200-run barrier in One-Day Internationals. He has created a legacy that will inspire future Indian cricketers to follow in his footsteps.

There are Sachin’s critics who feel that now that Sachin is unable to perform like he would do in the past, it is high time he started thinking about making room for a talented youngster.

But there are also his lovers who believe that Sachin is not yet finished. They have hope of his making a comeback in a big way. According to them, Sachin had suffered rough patches in the past too; but every time he went through lean period he would suddenly make a comeback. He had done it in past and so he can do it again, they say. They don’t believe that he should quit now and that he is past his peak and blocking the advancement of gifted young players. They are right when they say that although Sachin is past his prime, he is still worth two of any of those cricketers who are knocking the doors of test cricket.

Sachin has rendered decades of yeoman service to the national cricket team and has dazzled his fans time and again. So would it be right to pull him down the way some people are doing? Sachin is a genius and he can decide for himself whether he should quit or not. So leave the decision to Sachin himself.