AS glowing tributes poured in from all quarters for Sachin Tendulkar who retired from international cricket recently, a section of the electronic media these days is running a special documentary on the master batsman in chronological order.

However, a strange moment during the said TV programme was noticed the other day. The moderator, after highlighting 1998 as one of the most productive years for Tendulkar in international cricket contests, gave just a ‘momentary’ mention about Tendulkar’s show during Pakistan’s high-profile and long tour to India, starting in January 1999, and ‘jumped’ to the batsman’s performance in the 1999 World Cup.

And while the moderator ignored giving appropriate time to Pakistan’s landmark visit, more astonishing was that former Indian captains Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, present in the programme and both of whom had faced Pakistan in the aforementioned series, also opted to remain ‘selective’ on Tendulkar’s willow work in matches against Pakistan during that series. Astonishing indeed!

In that series in India, Wasim Akram-led visitors played three Tests followed by a tri-nation series, also involving Sri Lanka. Not to forget it was Tendulkar’s first-ever home Test series against Pakistan which were playing a Test series against their arch-rivals after almost 10 years.

Still the whole of it was neglected by the three men present in the programme.

Why? Perhaps because Pakistan won two of the three Tests played on Indian soil, besides clinching the tri-nation series, outclassing India in the final by 123 runs at Bangalore.

Or perhaps because Shoaib Akhtar’s sizzling in-swinging yorker uprooted Tendulkar’s middle stump at a jam-packed Eden Gardens in Kolkata, handing the batsman the very first golden duck of his otherwise illustrious Test career.

Known and recorded historical facts in any sport cannot be denied by hiding, neglecting or disregarding those, no matter how much one tries.

Arsal Shakil
Karachi