Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is undoubtedly one of the best batsmen the world has ever produced. Despite being one of the best, he still has had his fair share of ups and downs, with issues ranging from injuries to inconsistency.
Towards the end of his career, he struggled for consistency. From eight Tests against Australia and England combined, the Master Blaster scored just 560 runs that included four half-centuries.
There was also the pressure of scoring his 100th international century, a feat that he achieved during an Asia Cup match against Bangladesh in March 2012.
Sandeep Patil recalls his conversation with Sachin Tendulkar
In 2012, a year after Sachin won the ODI World Cup with India, the then BCCI chairman of selectors, Sandeep Patil, had a conversation with Sachin regarding his future. Sandeep had told Sachin that the selection committee was looking at a replacement because of his poor form.
This conversation came at a time when Sachin Tendulkar had scored just 112 runs from four Tests during a home series against England that India lost. By this time, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman had all retired from international cricket, and Team India were in transition.
“I remember the last day of the Nagpur Test when we lost to England in 2012. My fellow selector, Rajendra Singh Hans, and I went to the ACU (Anti-Corruption Unit) to seek permission to meet Sachin Tendulkar.
“We obtained the manager’s permission and invited Tendulkar. I asked him, as the chairman, ‘What are your plans?’ The selection committee had decided that his contributions were not helping the team. The entire country turned against me, but we never dropped him. He announced his retirement from ODIs first and then Tests,” Sandeep Patil told Vickey Lalwani during an episode of the latter’s podcast.
“He was surprised and rightfully so. He said Why?’ I said the committee felt we needed to look at your replacement, and he was shocked. He called me again and asked, ‘Are you serious?’ I said, yes.
“Later, when he decided to retire, he even called me and said, ‘Sandy, I am announcing my retirement.’ I feel sad that we had to take such a harsh decision. But look at the player who came in – Ajinkya Rahane,” he added.
“I want to carry on,” Tendulkar had told Sandeep at that time. However, less than a week since their meeting, Tendulkar announced his retirement from ODIs, which came just before a three-match series against Pakistan.
He would go on to play Tests for a few more months, until his final international match, which was a Test against West Indies at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in November 2013.
India completed a 4-0 clean sweep against Australia in the 2013 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but Tendulkar could manage to score just 192 runs in that series. Tendulkar scored 74 runs in his final Test innings against West Indies, and India went on to win that match by an innings and 126 runs.
With more than 34,000 runs to his name in international cricket, the “God of Cricket” remains one of the best to have played cricket. He is also the only cricketer to date to play 200 Test matches.
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