Sachin - Still a long way to go....

The recent test series between Sri Lanka and India has raised a lot of questions regarding the fabulous four and in particular Sachin Tendulkar.
"He has passed his peak"
"His mind is not on the game anymore"
"He cannot play Mendis and Murali"
These are the kind of conversations that are taking place passionately all over the country. The biggest problem about being an Indian cricket fan is that everybody is a self-professed 'expert of the game' - where his/her opinion and advice is what is going to save the Indian team whenever they go through a rough patch. I was seeing a talk show last night on the television. This was a show where people can call in and express their views about the burning issue of the day with regards to cricket. The topic for yesterday's show was "Sachin - is this the beginning of the end?"
The kind of opinions that came in from people all over the country ranged from hilarious to really sensible. The funniest one came from a gentleman residing in Bengaluru and i quote "Sachin's feet are not moving when he is at the crease". Perfect example of the breed of people i cited in the earlier part of the post. It was astounding as to what people could say on national television about a person who has been a humble servant of the sport for the past 19 years!
For all the cynics, there a few things that i would like to elucidate that we should keep in mind before criticising someone of his stature . Firstly, none of us know what it is like to face a leather ball coming right at you at 140 kmph in a stadium with 90,000 screaming fans. The only people who know that are ex-cricketers and none of them have asked for him to retire. So we have absolutely no moral right to pass judgement on something that we have never experienced. Secondly, when someone has served the country for 19 years and has played tirelessly the least we can do is have some respect for him and his ability rather than jump onto him for a failure. Some people say that he has crossed his peak, but they tend to forget that geniuses have no peaks. They set their own standards and are expected to better them time and again. Sachin is a genius, there is no doubting that but apart from that the sheer commitment that he has towards the game and the country is admirable - within a day of his father's funeral he was back in national colours at the world cup in England. Public memory is very short , such deeds are meerily forgotten to focus on his poor form. There was a statistic in yesterdays show focussing on his poor performances. There were 9 series they shortlisted in which it was felt that he wasn't in the best of form. This was from the time he made his debut in 1989. In 19 years he has had 9 'poor' series ( i quoted poor because in some of those series he averaged 30 which for a normal batsman is decent )that works out to 1 poor series every 2 years!!! That is appauling and is testimony to the fact about the high standards he sets for himself.
Lets have a little respect for this man who moved away from his parents at the age of 12 so that he could play cricket regularly. Let us not shun a man who used to be ferried by his coach from one ground to another in the sultry heat of Mumbai to bat in different matches throughout the day. Let us not tell a man who has the best cricketing brain seen so far as to when he should retire. Let us treat a man who has been praised by none other than The Don himself with a little respect.
At the risk of sounding prophetic I would like to predict that Sachin is going to be around till the 2011 cricket world cup. He knows that the world cup final is slated to be played at his home ground,the Wankhede stadium, it will be poetic justice for him to play in that match and lead India to victory- bit like a similar genius from tennis - Pete Sampras, who finished on a high after clinching the US Open at Flushing Meadows.