 Sachin Tendulkar turns 34
24th Apr 2007 18:27 IST
Agencies
Sachin Tendulkar, an integral part of the Indian squad in all forms of cricket till recently, today celebrated his 34th birthday with the knowledge that his glittering career is at the crossroads.
It turned out to be a quiet birthday for the champion batsman who spent most of the day indoor with his family and close friends.
Tendulkar has been 'rested' along with another former captain Sourav Ganguly for next month's one-day series in Bangladesh by the selection committee when the team was announced last week following the World Cup debacle, a decision which has triggered various interpretations in the media.
The sands of time seem to be catching up with Tendulkar with a question mark hanging over his international career, which has been nothing short of spectacular so far.
But Tendulkar is still a world class player in both forms of the game and his decline as a batsman – though palpable going by statistics – still show him to be good enough to command a place in the Indian team which was struggling to maintain consistency.
Tendulkar, who performed poorly like so many of his teammates in India's disastrous World Cup campaign in the West Indies, has scored only four hundreds in his last 50 ODIs, as compared to his overall tally of 41 in 384 ties while his average during this period – just under 40 – is below his career average of 44.
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