Admiration and kudos follow those who have the knack of carrying the burden on their shoulders in their respective fields. Some are admired for their grit and determination, others because of the extraordinary efforts put in by them and a few on sheer personal charisma. A philosophical quote by Vince Lombardi says "the spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur." This is what makes them stand apart from ordinary mortals.

The ongoing match-fixing scandal which rocked the country seems to have had no impact on former skipper Sachin Tendulkar and present captain Sourav Ganguly. In the latest issue of 'The Week', both Tendulkar and Ganguly have made it into the list of India's top 10 most admired of the 100 people selected.

The two outstanding players join other eminent personalities from various fields which include politicians Prime Minister AB Vajpayee and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, noted playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, Star of the Millennium Amitabh Bachchan, IPS officer Kiran Bedi, scientist Abdul Kalam, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai and economist Amartya Sen.

The top ten were selected by from a sample of about 1067 people across the six metros - Chennai, Calcutta, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore - in The Week-Mode opinion poll. Inspite of the `Hansiegate scam' the "Little Master" and the "Prince of Calcutta" made it into the elite group. The people's verdict was they were good players, not corrupt and were true ambassadors of the game.

Just a couple of days back in a TV programme, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jaywant Lele also reiterated the similar sentiments expressed by fans. Lele claimed that if the five players - Tendulkar, Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble - are not involved, then there can be no match fixing in the country. The people have now shown immense faith in two of the five names.

There has been some interesting findings during the course of the poll. Tendulkar and Ganguly have been placed at no. 3 and no.9 in the overall category. But by facts based in the socioeconomic category, Tendulkar figures at no. 5 in the higher income group while Ganguly does not figure in this. In the lower income group Tendulkar is the most popular among the masses at No 1 while Ganguly is placed at six.

Former New Zealand great Richard Hadlee in a speech on Sunday before the prize distribution function of the Buchi Babu Trophy tournament in Chennai said "The game of cricket is going through its biggest crisis. Bribery, corruption and match fixing are things we can never accept." Hadlee recalled the words of Sir Donald Bradman: "We are all custodians of the game of cricket." If one goes by the public opinion poll, Bradman and cricket fans the world over will surely feel proud that both Tendulkar and Ganguly, who have been the true flag bearers of the game in the country, are thought of so highly. Will other cricketers follow them?

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