A sorry Sachin!

Amidst the rising crescendo of irrepressible hype over India's singular victory over ODI world champions Australia at MCG, Melbourne a few days ago, two dramatic incidents of great cricketing relevance were somewhat brutally ignored.

Adam Gilchrist, that masterful destroyer of any bowling attack , now in his farewell series, was incongruously declared LBW by a dour-looking Rudi Koertzen from South Africa. A visibly flabbergasted Gilly, a personification of ultimate sportsmanship, walked back, his last days on the green field, summarily abbreviated.

Not long later, the modern clone of the great Sir Donald Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar was clearly caught behind the stumps, obviously by Gilly himself. As an incredulous Stuart Clark shook his head in complete disbelief, Tendulkar stood there, a picture of nonchalant carelessness. The erring umpire, once again, was the French-beard sporting Koertzen.

What would have been the reaction of the Indian public and our over-the-top media had Sachin been the wronged victim , and Gilchrist the fortunate survivor? What if Gilchrist had mercilessly clobbered the Indian attack, and led Australia to a triumphant score? After all, in ODIs, even one extraordinary knock can drastically alter outcomes, right?

And more pertinently, why did the usually enthusiastic media keep a well-orchestrated silence on the subject? Weren't we the ones who screamed with vociferous tremors when the silent assassin Mr Steve Bucknor kept raising his feared finger at the drop of a hat or a catch (pun intended)?

Somewhere are we all quietly playing games, either out of deliberate intent or some morbid fear, our collective conscience not permitting us to state the obvious, because it would perhaps contradict the prevailing frenzied pseudo-nationalistic sentiments in Indian cricket or perhaps the country itself? I wonder. After all, it takes guts to call a spade a spade and swim against the tide that the herds religiously pursue.

The truth is that much as we make a lot of song , dance and hullabaloo over the Sydney defeat, we lost the match. And there was no real justification for that cataclysmic collapse of three wickets with just a few minutes left. Captain Anil Kumble was man enough to admit that. Of course, Bucknor was a colossal blunder, and India rightly protested.

I have publicly endorsed his instant removal, unprecedented maybe, but inevitable too. But Bucknor's sacking at India's behest, makes us hereafter inextricably linked to our own future responses to umpiring decisions.

We can't have the cake and eat it too. After all, hasn't India itself established a clear precedent with Bucknor's mid-series sacking?

Does it mean that when decisions go against us we will silently sneak behind a thick quilt and pretend as if actually nothing happened? If this is not double standards, what is???

The fact that the TV commentators (they are all so paranoid and apprehensive when discussing Tendulkar's chinks, it is almost ridiculously funny) let it hurriedly bite the dust, is another story altogether.

I was therefore hugely disappointed that Tendulkar did not "walk", especially given the hyper-sensitivity the entire India-Australia series has assumed, and the bitter vehemence with which Bucknor was speedily dispatched on India's virtual blackmail threat. Also, that Sachin was the sole witness in that grotesque Monkeygate affair.

He has been in the thick of the wild action Down Under, his two Test centuries included. Tendulkar would have made a statement by his action, and been a role-model for future conduct. In my opinion, for cheekily hanging in there with sanctimonious ease, he blew an opportunity of a lifetime to give the game of cricket, fast-losing it's gentlemanly aura, it's dwindling reputation of becoming racially-divided, it's much needed respect. And credibility. And above all, honesty.

Sachin Tendulkar would have earned himself and India massive accolades if he had shown that he understood an umpire's predicament, and more important, allowed a result based on real fair-play, whichever way it went.

Sachin, I think temporarily forgot that he is lionized in Australia like one of their home favorites. That he is considered to be a statesman of world-cricket. After all, weren't we all just stating in high decibel sounds all over the TV channels and other media just the other day that how could Mike Proctor disbelieve Sachin Tendulkar, who is a paragon of truth and honesty and trust Ricky Ponting instead? Really now?

Sorry Sachin Tendulkar, but greatness goes beyond mind-boggling statistics, insurmountable records and titles and rising brand endorsements.

Some people take the bull by the horns; Sachin chose to shoot the animal down instead.