Sachin Tendulkar never publicised intimate personal events in a pre-social media world, and is not known to make a fuss about them post-Instagram either.
April 24, his birthday, was always a quiet affair even in his heyday, coming as it did at a time of the year with hardly any action on the international cricket calendar. The one time this day held a major international tri-series final was in 1998, when he played an innings for the ages: The 134 that came on the back of a 143 and capped a performance that came to be known as the Desert Storm (alluding to a sandstorm that disrupted play in the desert venue Sharjah).
Tendulkar took India to the final and then won that final on his own. He turned 25 that day; on the receiving end, Australia great Shane Warne aged a decade.
But even by Tendulkar’s standards, this Friday will mark his quietest birthday ever, which he will spend with his family under lockdown in Mumbai. As a mark of respect for the city’s front-line workers fighting the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, he says he will not celebrate.
Talking to HT a day before his 47th birthday, Tendulkar said cricket would emerge a different sport in a post-Covid-19 world and detailed the changes the game could witness.
“The method of shining the ball is going to change now,” Tendulkar said, referring to the age-old method of shining one side of the ball with saliva to make it swing.
“Celebrations also... one can’t do high-fives or hug each other. The game will restart after we overcome this challenge, but I feel that element [of fear] will stay somewhere in the back of the mind. To maintain certain hygiene levels not just during this phase, but post this is also going to be critical for everyone.”
{{/usCountry}}“Celebrations also... one can’t do high-fives or hug each other. The game will restart after we overcome this challenge, but I feel that element [of fear] will stay somewhere in the back of the mind. To maintain certain hygiene levels not just during this phase, but post this is also going to be critical for everyone.”
{{/usCountry}}It is widely expected that when sports does resume, most of it will happen in empty stadiums at the beginning. Cricket Australia has spoken about the possibility of holding the T20 World Cup, scheduled in October, behind closed doors.
“It would be a strange feeling to play inside an empty stadium,” he said. “Because you draw a lot of energy from the crowd. It may seem like net practice.”
Along with international sports, the domestic cricket circuit too has come to a standstill, with the 2020 Indian Premier League postponed indefinitely.
“It will be unfair to single out just the IPL as a tournament and say so many people are losing their livelihoods. We need to understand why this is happening. This is all happening in the interest of our nation, and nothing comes above that,” said Tendulkar.