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The little master will have much to contribute to Indian cricket, writes VETURI SRIVATSA

he greatness of Sachin Tendulkar is that he has never been dropped from the Indian team in any form of cricket, barring a bizarre decision to rest him from the OneDay Internationals (ODI) on the last tour to Australia. That’s an awesome record.

Only he decided to call time, last year from ODIs and now from Test cricket. He is going out at a time and place of his choosing, not at the prompting of others, whatever be the speculation over his meetings with the cricket board officials or the national selectors.

For quite some time Tendulkar’s retirement had become a national obsession, everyone had an opinion. Now the cynics have started saying that he didn’t want to go to South Africa and face the fearsome fast bowlers, and so he got the board to quickly arrange for a two-Test series at home against the West Indies to reach the milestone of playing 200 Tests. What’s more, he wanted to do it at his home, Mumbai.

It’s uncharitable to point a finger at the great man’s integrity. Even if he indeed wants to play his final Test in front of his home crowd, what’s wrong with that?

Tendulkar’s exit was very much on the cards after his two other famous contemporaries, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman, decided to call it a day in the last couple of years. Only he will reveal why he chose to stay on after his career ambition of winning the World Cup was fulfilled.

Now some well-wishers might say he should have hung around to celebrate his Silver Jubilee in international cricket next year before walking off the field, but like timing his shots he knew exactly when to go.

Tendulkar has been a star right from the day he played his first Test in Pakistan as a 16-year-old. On his second tour in New Zealand, he was mobbed by fans wherever India played and called him ‘Boy Wonder’. He chose his matches and tours till the team management found a way to rest him in a bizarre rotation policy in the ODIs on the recent tour of Australia in 2011-12. There were stretches when he could not attain the bar he has set for himself. Just as it took 370 days for him to get his 100th hundred, there was a time when he had only a couple of hundreds against Bangladesh to show. There was a spell when his overseas averages fell. Yes, there was a time when he could not cross the 30-run mark in nine Test innings.

Curiously, his landmark knocks came against Bangladesh. Just as he picked Bangladesh to hit his 100th hundred, he chose to get his highest international score, 248 not out in a Test in Dhaka in 2004.

In the last seven years or so there have been noises that he should go. Someone coined that terrible headline ‘Endulkar’. Nothing ruffled him. He answered his critics with his bat.

Watching and following his cricket all these years has been one of the pleasures of making a living as a reporter. On that 1989-90 New Zealand tour, he got all the freedom and protection he needed to enjoy himself. Those were the days when on tours there was not so much of nitpicking by the media.

Tendulkar was the talking point wherever people discussed cricket. “What’s special about that kid,” everyone in New Zealand wanted to know. “I can’t imagine a 16-year-old facing Richard Hadlee who has taken 400 Test wickets,” said an amateur painter as he sketched the ambiance of Christchurch, the garden city with Gothic architecture in South Island, as a memento to be given to him.

As a batsman, Tendulkar is a cut above two of his great contemporaries, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting. But both have no hesitation to admit that Tendulkar has something extra to make him a class apart.

The only time he betrayed his emotions was in the aftermath of the 2007 World Cup disaster in the Caribbean. There were shrill calls for his head and he publicly ticked off the then coach Greg Chappell, inviting a show-cause from the Indian cricket board.

Anyone who has played with Tendulkar unreservedly says that he has benefited by his ability to convey the finer points of the game.

Tendulkar always talked of his senior colleagues with respect. He was all praise for Laxman after their record 353-run fourthwicket partnership in the 2004 Sydney Test. Seeing Laxman hit

30 fours in his innings of 178 to Tendulkar’s 33 in his unbeaten 241, he put the artistry of ‘VVS’ in perspective.

“When Laxman was playing those shots, I decided it was best to just watch and enjoy his batting rather than try to do what he was doing”.

Tendulkar had to make minor adjustments to his technique over the years, mostly necessitated by injuries. But he has never been a slow couch in the field and patrolled the deep boundaries.

None of his contemporaries, or his huge league of admirers, including some greats of the game, seemed to be able to find any human weakness in him. This is quite unlike Don Bradman, who was not spared by his teammates, who found chinks in his persona even as they praised him sky-high as a cricketer.

Sachin, his admirers say, is more humane and likeable, though as a captain he appeared too stubborn, refusing to deviate from his pet fads.

“I look forward to playing my 200th Test Match on home soil, as

I call it a day,” he said.

Seldom has a player caught the imagination of cricket fans as he did. Tendulkar was the talking point wherever people discussed cricket. That continued and will continue even after his retirement. He will still have much to contribute to Indian cricket.

What was your favourite tendulkar trademark shot?

• His crisp back-foot punch through the covers

• His impeccable straight drive

• His cheeky upper cut

• His serene flick off the pads

VoT e o NLIN e: http://wp.me/p1oxkz-3Ds

IP Hor

Ilove train journeys. I enjoy the speed, rattle, occasional jerks and most importantly, gazing through the window at the rolling scenery outside. So when in Italy recently, I obviously opted for the railways, rather than flying.

Like the rest of Europe, the rail network in Italy is well developed. It offers the best of efficiency and comfort, and its outstanding record of punctuality gives a traveller more time to explore the nation’s uncountable sights.

You arrive at Rome and savour its history, then hop onto a superfast train to explore Florence’s Renaissance architecture, discover Venice’s canals at that perfect and romantic destination, and finish off the trip in Milan, Italy’s football city and the world’s fashion capital. I followed this itinerary and got a great taste of Italy.

Rome, the Eternal City

Arriving at the nation’s capital city, I sensed over two millenniums of history in the air that is filled with memories of Caesar, Nero, Michelangelo, Raphael and many other Roman greats who have contributed to build and beautify this city. This is the point from where the mighty Roman Empire expanded, Catholicism blossomed and European art and culture were epitomised.

Flanking the famous thoroughfare Via Veneto, the grand Regina Baglioni Hotel where I resided was charmingly close to the city’s iconic landmarks, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Forum and the Vatican City, dominated by St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Visiting all of them proved to me why Rome ranks as one of the world’s most visited destinations. Delightfully, almost all of these sites can be spotted if one occupies the hotel’s 560sq/m luxury penthouse suite, which offers the best overview of the city, but at a price.

The two museums that drew my attention were the Borghese Gallery which exhibits many master creations of Bernini, celebrated as the father of Baroque style; and Capitoline Museum where artefacts simply mesmerise visitors.

Roma Termini is the city’s main railway station. With 29 platforms and over 150 million passengers each year, it is one of the largest railway stations in Europe.

Florence, the Renaissance Quarter

Just a few hours from Rome by rail is Florence, recognised as the nation’s cultural and intellectual epicenter. The city in which the Renaissance period was conceived, was home to many well-known artists, writers, explorers and scientists; Leonardo da Vinci, from around the globe landing here with a huge appetite for art as this city houses several museums and galleries, the most famous being the Uffizi Gallery. Designed by Vasari in the 16th century, it is regarded by art connoisseurs as one of the most important museums in the world, displaying classics from Bottichelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titan, Caravaggio, Michelangelo and many masters of the period. I regretted not having enough time to spend here. In fact, one needs days, perhaps weeks, to go through the wide range of the exhibits, each of which is a gem on its own. I also dropped in on another famous museum called the Accademia, to pay a visit to Michelangelo’s immortal creation David, an exact copy of which graces the Piazza Del Signoria, a cobblestone paved area powdered with a gorgeous fountain and several samples of art, akin to an open air museum. Many of the city’s churches are works of art in themselves, the most famous being the city’s landmark Santa Maria del Fiore, popularly known simply as the Duomo. My next stop on the train was to Pisa to see its world famous Leaning Tower.

Venice, the centre of Romance

Venice, as we have all seen in pictures and photographs, floats dream-like on canals and lagoons. This small city, with its ensemble of waterways and tiny bridges, gondolas and yachts, and its labyrinth of narrow alleyways opening to large piazzas flanked by a galaxy of colourful buildings glaring at the paved space occupied by locals, tourists and pigeons, induces novel thoughts even in the minds of the unromantic.

The best way to appreciate the beauty of Venice is by wandering aimlessly and losing yourself in its maze of unknown streets where every turn finds a new charm like a church, a former palace, an old house or a café servicing authentic Italian coffee and snacks.

However, whichever mystic route is followed, you will ultimately end up at St Marco Square conquered by the presence of St Mark’s Basilica and the adjacent Doge’s Palace, the two most significant signposts of Venice. Another inescapable Venetian site is the Rialto Bridge, the oldest pathway across the Grand Canal, a tour of which in the local water-buses called Vaporetto, is fascinating. It presented me a different view of the fantasyland, while thinking about episodes of Bassani, Portia and Shylock from Shakespeare’s Merchants of Venice

Milan, the Mecca of Italian football

Being the home of legendary football clubs Inter Milan and AC Milan makes Italy’s second largest city football-crazy, but there is more than that for visitors. Here you can see the Leonardo’s breathtaking fresco

The Last Supper in a museum inside the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie (you are required to prebook tickets and the museum is closed on Mondays), and Rondanini

Pietà a marble sculpture that Michelangelo worked on from the 1550s until his last days in 1564, in the Museum of Ancient Art of Sforza Castle. However, the most visited landmark of Milan is the Duomo, the world’s largest Gothic cathedral which, with its 3,400 statues, 135 spires and 155 gargoyles, simply mesmerises onlookers, myself being no exception.

Milan is the world’s fashion capital and you can’t leave the city without paying a visit to its celebrated fashion district located

Another inescapable Venetian site is the Rialto Bridge, the oldest pathway across the Grand Canal, a tour of which in the local water-buses called Vaporetto, is fascinating

St Peters Basilica, Vatican Milan Railway Station Riverfront Florence Leaning Tower of Pisa

Trevi Fountain

Gondola ride in the heart of the city, not far from the Duomo. Here the streets are lined with shops of every designer label that you can think of. While wandering around, I noticed parking spots mostly filled with Bentleys and Ferraris, who were obviously shoppers! So my retail experience was restricted to window gazing, and surely it was rewarding to discover the latest on fashion.

Travel noTebook

I tA lY

G e TTING TH e R e

Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com) has daily flights from Australia to Rome via Singapore. From Roma Termini railway station there are connections to all major Italian cities and other European destinations. Check www.trenitalia.com for details or contact CIT Holidays in Australia on 1300 380 992 for getting rail tickets on hand before leaving home.

ACCo M Mo DATI o N

At Rome at Regina Baglioni (www.baglioni hotels.com), at Florence at La Casa Del Garbo (www.casadelgarbo.it), at Venice at Hotel Commercio & Pellegrino (www.commerciopellegrino.com) and at Milan at Best Western Hotel Madison (www.madisonhotelmilano.com). All of these hotels are centrally located in close proximity of the main railways stations. Mo R e IN fo RMATI o N www.turismoroma.it; www.turismo.intoscana.it; enturismovenezia.it and www.enit.it.