Sports

What Ails The Hero?

His back may keep the Little Master away from the World Cup

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What Ails The Hero?
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Of course, with speculation rampant about the extent of Sachin's back injury and the little genius himself reluctant to speak about it except in terms of some 'stiffness', India's England campaign itself may be lost before the team dons its blazers for the inauguration ceremonies.

For, at the inaugural Asian Test Championship match in Calcutta, things were so bad that Sachin found it difficult to bend to lift even a piece of paper. In his hotel room he told a friend: 'I've never been in so much pain before.'

Of course, the pain had its first virulent manifestation at the time of his century knock in the first Test match against Pakistan at Chennai on January 31. A week later, Sachin played in Delhi with a spinal support belt wrapped around his lower back. Says S.P. Mandal, senior orthopaedic consultant at Gangaram Hospital, who examined him for four hours: 'Sachin reported of problems while he was fielding but he was affected by spasms while batting.' On the eve of the match, he underwent special treatment for the pain and Mandal helped him with some exercises. While he identified the injury as pain in the right sacroiliac muscles and the lumbar regions, the mri scan thankfully cleared him of bone injuries. The problem persisted in Sri Lanka, but Sachin took care to keep his spine straight as much as possible and avoid back-aggravating shots.

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Later, in London, where he went for a second diagnosis to Dr Ken Kennedy, a former rugby player who once treated both Ian Chappel and Rodney Marsh for back injuries, Sachin was advised a set of stretching and strengthening exercises. Says another Sachin confidant: 'Basically, I think what Kennedy found was that one side of his back muscles was more developed than the other, leading to a strain on the weaker side, particularly on occasions when he thumped a ball on or beyond the off-stump to over mid-wicket.'

While Sachin has, apparently, been advised to play with a lighter bat, which he's reluctant to do, Kennedy holds the busy international schedule as the main culprit. Says he: 'The human body can take only a certain amount of physical stress. After a stressful series you need to go sailing or indulge in some hobby rather than go into another hectic round of activity.' Kennedy also feels that the heavy bat Sachin uses is inconsistent with his height, weight and general anatomy.

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While Sachin plays with a monster bat weighing 3 lbs, 2 ounces, it has more wood at the bottom and three grips. Clive Lloyd and Lance Cairns were other batsmen who played with that heavy a bat. But both were huge and had much larger muscle masses than Sachin. Lloyd, relevantly, had a similar problem while touring India in '83. A doctor examining X-ray images of his lower back saw signs of lumbago (lower back pain). Other Indian players who have been treated for back problems include Vikram Rathore, Dilip Vengsarkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Vengsarkar was beset with a similar problem at the start of his career in 1976 and was treated by Dr K.M. Modi, an osteopathic practitioner in Bombay. While he cured Vengsarkar in six weeks, Modi himself is not happy at the rest-and-exercise routine Kennedy has prescribed for Sachin. Says he: 'The best treatment for him will be a manipulative adjustment of the lumbar spine and sleeping on a wooden plank with a thin carpet spread on it.'

However, it's the bcci which has to guard against being all too eager to get Sachin back for the Sharjah series in early April. bcci secretary J.Y. Lele has already gone on record saying Sachin will play in Sharjah. A longer break rather than another dose of cricket is what the Little Master needs for Kennedy's routine to work. The bcci, therefore, should hold firm and play safe even though Sachin might be keen.

It would also safeguard a national treasure we want to savour for at least another 10 years. A treasure even politicians of the hue of Sonia Gandhi appreciate. One of the high points of Sachin's tryst in the Rashtrapati Bhavan where he went to receive the Padma Shri was a one-to-one meet with the Congress president. Apparently, in a chat with singer Lata Mangeshkar, who was there to receive the Padma Vibhushan, Sonia expressed her desire to meet the Indian batting genius. Pronto, one of the President's annexe room was made available. Of course, the conversation was short and cordial. Let's hope Sachin's back problem is as short.

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