Surely no part of any cricketer's anatomy has been so analysed,
discussed and bisected as Sachin Tendulkar's back. Cricket fans
have expressed anxiety over how acute the problem is. One
national newsmagazine has carried an extensive cover story asking
whether Tendulkar's career is finished. Another has a lengthy
analytical report.
Ever since the problem first cropped up during his gallant
century in a losing cause in the Chennai Test against Pakistan in
January, there has much speculation to the cause and the effect
it will have on Tendulkar and Indian cricket itself in the long
run. When the problem resurfaced during the camp at Chennai prior
to the team's departure for the competitions in Sri Lanka and
Singapore, the Indian captain consulted doctors. When the back
pain persisted and affected his batting in the two tournaments,
Tendulkar, realising the gravity of the situation, lost no time
in dropping out of the series in Toronto and hastened to
Australia to seek the advice of doctors there. The Chennai based
MRF Pace Foundation which has a tie up with the Australian
Cricket Academy in Adelaide helped him make the trip and
Tendulkar took along with him Ajit Agarkar for treatment to his
hamstring problem.
Now after consulting Australian medical experts, Tendulkar said
on Tuesday that he was confident of a full return to fitness in
about three or four weeks. According to the Indian captain, he
has been informed by doctors at the Australian Cricket Academy
that he had defects in his lower vertebrae and a scar tissue had
formed which occasionally became inflamed and caused the pain in
the back.
It is a big relief to all of us in India that the problem is not
a major one and can be healed in a short time. Tendulkar himself
was relieved to know the exact nature of the problem which makes
treatment that much easier. But he will have to do some special
exercises for the rest of his career. All these have clearly been
chalked out for him and it is now up to Tendulkar to overcome the
problem and get back in action.
One's mind goes back about a quarter of a century when another
famous cricketer had a severe back problem. Dennis Lillee,
already an established fast bowler for Australia was stricken by
acute back pain on the tour of West Indies in 1973. As he
recounts in his autobiography he underwent a number of lengthy
exercise routines and painful treatment which took him over a
year. But he overcame the problem and went on to play for
Australia for a decade on his way to becoming arguably the
greatest Australian fast bowler of all time. Hopefully Lillee's
example will serve as an inspiration to Tendulkar. All the same
it is important that he takes the maximum rest possible in
between cricketing engagements.