Tendulkar, the dollar sign

By John Cheeran
I do admit that marketing men know the worth of anyone in public life much better than journalists.
Hence I'm not amazed that Sourav Ganguly has not been chosen by Indian media planners to peddle Pepsi or Coca-Cola during this sizzling summer.
I'm told that media planners did not give into Sourav's clout even in West Bengal while finalising their strategy for the ABP Country.
Some of my fellow journalists might be railing against this injustice but I couldn't agree with the ad kids more.
Be that as it may, Saatchi and Saatchi's move to tie up with Sachin Tendulkar surprises me. Tendulkar, currently recovering from shoulder surgery, has signed a three-year deal which can be extended by another three years, with Saatchi's Indian arm ICONIX.
That is, not only during this World Cup, even in the 2011 World Cup, which is going to be staged in the Indian subcontinent, Saatchi hopes to sell the Indian hero.
Reports said the deal was worth around $40 million, a huge jump from his previous five-year endorsement deal worth $17 million, which ended late lastyear.
Tendulkar is struggling. Is his image strong enough to endure the turmoil at the wicket? It should have been a tough call for ICONIX to make.
To pay Tendulkar for the rights to use his image much more than when he was in peak form is a baffling but bold move by any yardstick.
I cannot foresee Tendulkar retaining his place in the Indian side in the post-World Cup scenario.
Right now, Tendulkar is finished as a quality Test cricketer. What keeps him in the Indian side is his fifty-over exploits. There too, Tendulkar has failed to conceal the cracks in his game. Everyone in India is impatient with this fast fading icon and a poor string of scores in the WorldCup (he has to come good in the Super League, since the group matches give two opportunities to crack centuries against teams who do not deserve to be there)will finish him off as a messenger boy to big-time advertising.
May be, ad kids do know better than me.
May be I'm plain wrong.
But by all means this has been an interesting turn of events.
Tendulkar's star status is directly linked to his place in the Indian side. I'm sure, having signed Tendulkar, Saatchi and Saatchi will be eager to ensure that Tendulkar remains in the Indian side. Temptation time for National selection committee.
I have no choice but to recall Indian team coach Greg Chappell's statement regarding Ganguly in this context.
Chappell told The Guardian that he did not realize that how important a place in the Indian team was for Ganguly's financial well-being. Much the same can be said about any player, and that includes Tendulkar.
Another crucial thing is that unlike legendary Kapil Dev, the Mumbai batsman lacks charisma. There cannot be any doubts on that score after all these years.
The day Tendulkar bids farewell to competitive cricket, marketing men will find it tough to project him as a brand. There cannot be an evolution for a finished product such as Tendulkar. And with the 2011 World Cup happening in the Indian subcontinent my money is onhitherto unknown stars in the mould of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to carry the message.
I hope to be around to be proven wrong by Tendulkar.