To revive interest in Tests,Sachin has an idea: Free one stand for school kids

Since India's win in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa two years ago, the impact of the game's shortest version has sparked off a debate on the future of Test cricket. This was one of the main topics on Tuesday during a discussion on `Cricket in Changing Times', which followed the launch of Out of the Box -- Watching the Game We Love, a compilation of Harsha Bhogle's columns in The Indian Express.

At a function attended by luminaries from different sports and walks of life--including the cream of Mumbai's cricket fraternity, former hockey skipper Dhanraj Pillay, former world billiards champion Michael Ferreira, and Oscar winner Resul Pookutty -Bhogle presented the first copy of the book to Sachin Tendulkar.

The panelists -- Bhogle, former cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, Editor-in-Chief of IBN18 Network Rajdeep Sardesai, and Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner Lalit Modi -- then had a lively debate about the emergence of T20, about how cricket is written and reported these days, and how other sports in the country can be revived.

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Tendulkar sets record straight with a century

Paceman Tim Southee was a two year-old toddler when Sachin Tendulkar first toured New Zealand in 1990. The Indian didn’t score too many runs in that series, his second, but the locals were sure they hadn’t seen the last of the 17-year-old, curly haired prodigy. Four years later, New Zealand got a ringside view of the launch of an opening act that became a hugely popular travelling show around the world. In Auckland, Tendulkar, opening in one-dayers for the first time, blasted a memorable, match-winning 49-ball 82.

A lot has changed since then, but not everything. The frame has thickened, the hair has thinned but the halo refuses to fade. They still applaud when he enters the ground and, on Sunday, at the AMI Stadium gave a standing ovation as Tendulkar walked out, retired hurt, for 163.

This despite the fact that the master batsman has been responsible for spoiling the bowling figures of several generations of Kiwi bowlers.

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