Sachin Tendulkar may have retired from world cricket, however, his fans have not retired from their fandom. They are still around in huge numbers and are vociferously loyal and devoted to their hero. They believe that Tendulkar is the best batsman ever and nothing and no one can change this fact. ICC’s official Twitter handle said something that really seemed to infuriate them:
English cricketer Ben Stokes is seen receiving the Man of the Match award at the hands of Sachin Tendulkar. The official Cricket World Cup handle had tweeted the picture along with the line: “The greatest cricketer of all time - and Sachin Tendulkar
This was when Ben Stokes’ superb performance in the Ashes series almost single-handedly took England to victory in the third Test. “Told you so"
Tendulkar fans quickly trotted out facts and figures that prove why their idol is what he is, and why Stokes is a pale shadow by comparison.
This was the tenor of many of the comments that responded to the ICC’s post.
For the diehard fans, he is God and no one can be better.
Many thought that this was such an outrageous claim by the ICC that whoever tweeted this had to have been on some banned substance.
Purists believe that test matches are the only real test of cricketing ability; everything else, such as ODIs and T20 cricket are adulterated, diluted forms of cricket.
Some felt that Stokes’ performance should be taken in the right context and pointed out that there is a huge difference between the Aussie attack that Tendulkar had faced and the relatively weaker current Aussie team that Stokes faces.
Tendulkar had an exceptionally long and exceptionally distinguished career before he hung up his boots. Stokes is still to do so. Who knows what he may or may not do in the years to come.
Some felt that it is not correct to compare an opening batsman with an all-rounder who comes lower down in the batting order. Plus, there is a significant demographic out there which believes Tendulkar played for himself and not for the team.
They believe that he fell short during the crunch games and isn’t as much of a match-winner as just a good batsman. They believe that Stokes is better by this token. Of course, this view also received significant pushback, some of the commentators even coming in for some abuse.
This tweet encapsulates why ICC tweeted out this rather outrageous and largely inaccurate claim. It was basically to needle fans and to create engagement on their Twitter page. Social media is hugely important for organisations such as the ICC. They need fans to engage with and comment on their posts. Looks like Tendulkar fans gave them exactly what they wanted in response to their deliberately provocative tweet by rising beautifully to the bait.
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