Sachin Tendulkar had announced his retirement after two Tests against West Indies. The second Test got over on the third day on 16/11/2013 and his Test career came to an end. If the Test had lasted full five days his Test career would have ended on 18/11/2013. His ODI career had ended in 2012.
Soon after the Test got over came the news that Sachin Tendulkar was to get Bharat Ratna. The last and 41st person to receive Bharat Ratna was Bhimsen Joshi in 2009. It was as if the government was waiting for Sachin Tendulkar to retire. At 40 he is the youngest to receive Bharat Ratna.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was not popular for electing to field after winning the toss. Many had come to Wankhede Stadium to watch Sachin Tendulkar bat. After West Indies were all out for 182 they wanted two Indian wickets to fall quickly so that Sachin Tendulkar can bat. There was cheer when Murali Vijay was out. Sachin Tendulkar was out on 74 on the second day. Those who hoped for a century were disappointed. Then many wanted Mahendra Singh Dhoni to declare so that Sachin Tendulkar can bat again. That did not happen. India went on to score 495. West Indies were all out for 187 in their second Innings and India won the Test by an Innings and 126 runs. It seems West Indians are serious about IPL but not about Tests as there is plenty of money in IPL and comparatively less in Tests.
TV coverage of Sachin Tendulkar over the past weeks was over the top. People who scored centuries against West Indies were ignored. Bowlers who took wickets were ignored. It was Sachin Tendulkar all the way. One report showed someone worshipping Sachin Tendulkar. I doubt whether that was genuine or made for TV. CNN-IBN interviewed Amitabh Bachchan and Lata Mangeshkar on Sachin Tendulkar. You could not escape him on any Indian news channel, and sometimes even on BBC and CNN.
Sachin Tendulkar is the first player to play 200 Tests. He has 51 Test centuries and 15,921 Test runs. He was the first cricketer to score 12,000, 13,000, 14,000 and 15,000 Test runs. His Test career began in November 1989 and ended in November 2013. He was the youngest to play for India. Many Test cricketers started their careers after him and retired before him. When he began his career Prannoy Roy asked Sunil Gavaskar about Sachin Tendulkar, “Will he be a Gavaskar?” Sunil Gavaskar replied “He will be a Tendulkar.”
Sachin Tendulkar broke many records and created new ones. He broke Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 34 Test centuries. He broke Brian Lara’s record of highest Test runs in a career. He broke Steve Waugh’s record of highest Tests.
Sachin Tendulkar did not hit a triple century. Brian Lara hit a triple century and a quadruple century. Donald Bradman had two triple centuries. Virender Sehwag and Christopher Gayle have two triple centuries each. Christopher Gayle disappointed in the two Tests. Virender Sehwag is not in the Test team.
When Gregory Stephen Chappell was India’s Test and ODI coach he wanted five players dropped. Sachin Tendulkar was one of them. The selectors did not agree. Other four were Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.
Time will tell how long Sachin Tendulkar’s records will stand. There is a saying “Records are made only to be broken.” In ODIs he was the first batsman to hit 200 in an Innings and that was a record for some years. Virender Sehwag broke it. Surpassing 200 Tests is difficult because it takes many years.
Some want Sachin Tendulkar to be a coach. A great player need not be a great coach. It is for him to decide what he wants to do. He is an MP by nomination. Some cricketers have become MPs by contesting elections. Mohammed Azharuddin is a Congress member. Kirti Azad is a BJP member. Chetan Chauhan was a BJP MP. Imran Khan founded a party. He had some success. He failed to become president or prime minister of Pakistan. Sachin Tendulkar had his restaurant business. Becoming commentator is an option.
On Sunday 17/11/2013 Sachin Tendulkar had a press conference. Later he appeared on many TV channels giving interviews. On Headlines Today two were interviewing him. One was Boria Mazumdar who till sometime back was with Times Now.
