By Amit Karmarkar
1
Sep
Back specialist Dr Ken Kennedy from England; acupuncture expert Dr Po from Singapore; Mumbai’s own Dr Anant Joshi. Next in line could be Dr Greg Hoy from Australia who operated on Shane Warne’s spinning finger.Sachin Tendulkar and the Board of Control in India (BCCI) are in search of a medicine man who can find the cure for what is, arguably, the nation’s most precious ailing back.
‘‘Tendulkar has spoken to Australia’s Warne and Steve Waugh in Colombo,’’ informed BCCI Honorary Secretary Jayawant Lele yesterday after announcing the 14-member Indian squads for the twin tours of Singapore and Canada. ‘‘And it’s likely that he will consult the same doctor who operated on Warne’s finger.’’
The Indian skipper was clearly in pain during his memorable knock of 120 against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Despite this, he confirmed to Lele on Monday that he would be going to Singapore for the Coca-Cola Challenge against Zimbabwe and the West Indies (Sept 2-7) and the three-match Toronto Festival (Sept 11-14).
The master batsman spoke to Lele on Monday and expressed his desire to go to Canada. ‘‘He is the best judge,’’ said the BCCI secretary. ‘‘Till today, there has been no proper diagnosis of his back trouble. Sometimes, it hurts. Otherwise, he feels perfectly fine. All doctors have cleared him. There is no deformity in his back.’’ Tendulkar did not play in the two tri-nation series (in India and Sharjah) before the World Cup. And he also went through more than two months without international cricket after the mega-event. Still, won’t it be wiser to rest him considering not-so-important events in Singapore and Canada?
Lele doesn’t agree. ‘‘We have decided to go by his word alone. Who else but he can decide about his fitness in this case,’’ he explained. Interestingly, Dr Kennedy had recommended a short holiday for the 26-year-old, before adding that his heavy bat may have been a contributing factor.
The Indian skipper continues to use a bat weighing more than 2.6 pounds, while most other batsman today use the 2.2-pound willow.
There is a possibility that his decision to play on despite a bad back may return to haunt Tendulkar in the days to come. Should such a decision be left entirely to the player or should senior cricketing personalities like chairman of selectors Ajit Wadekar and BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur come into the picture?
‘‘I can understand the concern over Sachin’s back,’’ said Wadekar. ‘‘But I can assure you that in spite of being immensely passionate about his game, he is a balanced thinker and takes the right decisions. As of now, there is no reason to intervene.’’
Tendulkar has recently stated that he hates to miss even a net session, forget about watching a game from the dressing room. Till now, bowlers used to go cock-a-hoop after seeing the Indian batting maestro’s back, which today has left doctors clueless and millions of his fans tense.