Buchanan does not doubt the Mumbaikar’s greatness in Test and ODI formats but the former Kolkata Knight Riders coach insists Twenty20 is just not Tendulkar’s cup of tea.
“Tendulkar has been lauded, and rightly so, as one of the very top batsmen in the history of cricket...But is he an effective T20 player at this stage of his career?” questioned the former Australia coach in his latest book ‘The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20’.
“In the position he plays -- as an opener of No 3 -- the T20 game requires not only the finesse and skills he has, but also the power and domination, an ability to take the bowlers on while being creative.
“You have to be inventive and fearless. And I don’t see those qualities as part of Sachin’s make-up at this stage of his career. Sachin Tendulkar is still a great player but not in this arena of T20,” Buchanan said in the book published by Orient Paperbacks.
Buchanan felt the performance of Tendulkar and a few other senior players in this format has been rather “subdued”.
“...homegrown heroes such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman...were expected to influence, and on some occasions single-handedly win, IPL matches,” Buchanan said.
“Yet their subdued performances highlight that Test match temperament does not necessarily ensure prolonged success in the T20 game,” Buchanan said.
He in fact went on to say that the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman were unfit for cricket’s shortest format.
“I was constantly battling with the fact that I believed he (Ganguly) -- along with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman -- was not suited to T20 cricket,” he said.
“The same could be said about Rahul Dravid. Dravid is a great representative of Indian cricket, a team man, humble, a well-spoken gentleman.
“But unfortunately he could not score a single run in the early rounds of the IPL, and in my opinion, is not suited to this form of the game.
“I am certain Dravid’s performances were also affected by the off-field drama created by his franchise owner Vijay Mallya,” he said.
About Laxman, Buchanan said “he is not up to pace”.
Buchanan likened Ganguly to Australian great Ian Chappell and said, “Ganguly was the model for the new breed of confident and combative Indian cricketers. Ganguly showed that Indian cricket could stand up for itself.
Harbhajan hits back
Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh hit back at Buchanan for taking a swipe at some of the Indian cricketing greats, saying he was habituated to being criticised by Australians but surprised at the pot shots on the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
“I read through the comments on an online news portal. The great coach indeed had some great comments to make, just like his great coaching methods,” Harbhajan wrote in his blog from UK where is holidaying with his family.
“I am not surprised at this. In fact, anything coming out of Australia does not surprise me anymore.... (But) what surprises (offends) me are the well crafted and framed comments on proven legends like Mr Gavaskar and Sachin.”
