Sometime in the next 12-18 months, the greatest batsman I've had the pleasure of watching will call it a day. As a cricket spectator, I know that life for me will not be the same in a world where the familiar face of Sachin Tendulkar does not come out to bat at the fall of the second wicket or the commencement of the Indian innings depending on the format. It will be akin to Bollywood without Amitabh Bachchan and somewhere in me there will be a silent tear shed.
And its not just Tendulkar. His departure will symbolise the closure of the period in which I did most of my cricket watching as an adult (a largely T20 free period thank heaven). A look at the top batsmen and bowlers since the turn of the millenium is instructive. Six of the top 20 batsmen have retired sometime in the last five years and another eight (Ponting, Kallis, Sangakkara, Tendulkar, Jayawardene, Sehwag, Chanderpaul, and Younis Khan) are clearly on their last legs. Smith, Pietersen, Gayle, and Clarke are all 31+ which leaves Cook as the sole under 30 member of that group. The bowlers present an even more dramatic picture. Of the top 20 wicket-takers since 2000, eleven have retired in the last five years (and Kaneria is serving a life ban). Zaheer, Vettori, Martin and Kallis are way past their best and hence not likely to last more than another 12 months or so. Harbhajan will need a miraculous comeback (or a disastrous spell for Ashwin and Ojha) to get to 100 Test matches which leaves just the top two bowlers in the world today, Steyn and Anderson of whom the latter is past 30.
The next generation of stars is still emerging but somehow in a T20 rich world, it is hard to imagine as many young men who will leave an enduring legacy behind as there were in the 90s and noughties. But maybe, I'm just being jaded and cynical. Maybe the Amlas, Kohlis, Wades, Philanders and Roachs of this new era will prove me wrong. I sure hope they do.
And its not just Tendulkar. His departure will symbolise the closure of the period in which I did most of my cricket watching as an adult (a largely T20 free period thank heaven). A look at the top batsmen and bowlers since the turn of the millenium is instructive. Six of the top 20 batsmen have retired sometime in the last five years and another eight (Ponting, Kallis, Sangakkara, Tendulkar, Jayawardene, Sehwag, Chanderpaul, and Younis Khan) are clearly on their last legs. Smith, Pietersen, Gayle, and Clarke are all 31+ which leaves Cook as the sole under 30 member of that group. The bowlers present an even more dramatic picture. Of the top 20 wicket-takers since 2000, eleven have retired in the last five years (and Kaneria is serving a life ban). Zaheer, Vettori, Martin and Kallis are way past their best and hence not likely to last more than another 12 months or so. Harbhajan will need a miraculous comeback (or a disastrous spell for Ashwin and Ojha) to get to 100 Test matches which leaves just the top two bowlers in the world today, Steyn and Anderson of whom the latter is past 30.
The next generation of stars is still emerging but somehow in a T20 rich world, it is hard to imagine as many young men who will leave an enduring legacy behind as there were in the 90s and noughties. But maybe, I'm just being jaded and cynical. Maybe the Amlas, Kohlis, Wades, Philanders and Roachs of this new era will prove me wrong. I sure hope they do.
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