‘Tendulkar needs to retire for the sake of the Indian team’
“It is time for Tendulkar, great player that he is, to walk away now for the sake of the Indian team.” -File photo by AP
KARACHI: Calls for Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement have intensified, with former cricketers calling for him to make the final Test of the ongoing series against England his last, after India lost the third Test by seven wickets, marking a second consecutive loss in Kolkata.
Even though India were unable to put up satisfactory performances as a team, it was Tendulkar who had to bear the burnt of the critics’ backlash. The criticism is not uncalled for as the 39-year old has only managed paltry scores of 13, 8,8, 76, 5 in his last three Test appearances against England in a run of lacklustre performances that date back up to a year.
The fourth and final Test, which starts in Nagpur on Thursday, sees Alastair Cook’s men go into the match with a 2-1 lead in the series and a chance to become the first tourists since 2004 to win a Test series in India. They can also become the first English side to win a series in India since 1985.
Former India captain, Sourav Ganguly, who also played with Tendulkar, said that the recent lack of runs was enough to signal that it is time for the great batsman to retire.
“Sachin desperately needs to get runs,” Ganguly said. “He has achieved a lot. He is getting a long rope because of what he has achieved.
“By now he should know how to turn it around. As somebody watching it from outside, Tendulkar is not performing and I think if I were Tendulkar, I would go (retire). But it’s up to him at the present moment. We want to see the great man going with a bat held high and not in terrible form.”
England’s former captain Michael Vaughan echoed Ganguly’s sentiments and said that the decision will solely be Tendulkar’s and it is time he makes it.
“England’s performances in the last two Tests have been as good as anything I have seen from it, either as a player or a fan, and should leave Sachin Tendulkar heading into retirement after the Nagpur Test,” Vaughan wrote in his column for the Telegraph.
“It is time for Tendulkar, great player that he is, to walk away now for the sake of the Indian team. Last week we had a call from a legend, a great, in Ricky Ponting. He felt his time was up and realised a young player would take his place,” he said.
“I am hoping that Sachin will also accept he has to make his own call. There is no one strong enough in Indian cricket to go and knock on his door and say time is up,” he added.
Vaughan added that Tendulkar’s retirement will pave way for new faces who will help improve Indian cricket in the long run and said it was ‘horrible’ to see great players lose their touch and play badly towards the end of their careers.
“Sometimes senior players stick around for too long and the team gets stuck in a rut. When you want so desperately to finish with a hundred in your last few games, it actually becomes harder and harder. You can want something too much.
“I am sure he is still a magnificent role model in the dressing room and is respected by everyone, but it is horrible to see these greats go on too long and playing badly at the end,” he wrote.
“Eventually even Sachin has to move on. It will take a while to get used to life without Sachin but it might bring new energy into the set-up,” he said.
For Tendulkar its time to throw in the towel. period
Gangully will change what he says after Indo-Pak Series. If he is selected for ODI’s aginst then just wait and watch…
No doubt that Ponting would have scored runs against a weak Sri Lankan attack on his home ground (Hobart). But he retired because he knew he wasn’t up to facing England in England. In comparison, Tendulkar kept going after his failure in Australia because he knew he could get a century against Bangla Desh. True greatness is about more than just statistics.
He should have retired from international cricket after the world cup final. That was a high point in his career but the medias obsession with 100th hundred stopped him from doing so. I feel he will stay till he scores another century. It feels like he wants to call it a day on a high but he should understand that after the performances of last year, no high would be high enough. He will score a hundred somehwere if he keeps playing: that is the law of averages. But would it be worth it?
Agreed.
Due to new technologies in cricket and new young talents coming up it may not be possible for Tendulkar to fulfill his ambition, so that means he will continue but its the selection committee who should not select him any more and give chance to new bright batsmen who will prove to be an asset for the team for long. hk
Typical mentality of the public: loose a match, find the weakest link (Afridi in this case), destroy the streets, shout out tweets and Facebook statuses to kick him off the team and declare them as a retirement package, and then they say he should have been included in the next series?
To leave Abdul Razaq is a mistake as he is an asset for the team in all three phases viz: batting, bowling and fielding. hk
i think this article is about tendulkar right?…so what does razzaq or afridi have anything to do with this discussion? lol you’re completely off the track mate…
Wake up Kid !!
This is a comment reg. TENDULKAR the ace batsman of India, but now the question arises so many other class players were on top and they quit with grace. Similarly Tendulkar should also quit from
cricket and start giving training to youngsters as well as Indian team who can benefit from his vast
experience. hk
I think it is right to leave Afridi in this match and let him try to perform his batting which is very much needed from him. As a spinner he is a class one no doubt as a fielder too he is class. What lalpse he has is batting, probably he tries to play at the beat of the public in batting and gets out as he is not a polished batsman. hk
What a tragedy… Cricket lovers would do anythign to have a glimpse of this genious and now people, including myself, just want him to get aside. It is law of nature, nothing stays for ever.
I have greatest regard for Sachin not only for his skills as a batsman but also as a very humble human being and a great ambassador of sport. He was never involved in any on or off the ground controvesries- no girls, no glamour and never breached spirit of the game.
So the best thing is for him to hang his boots that will enable youngsters to prove themselves and India must start building a new team. We are loosing in any case so why not give youngsters exposure.
Dear Mandeep, Sachin was a great batsmen with which no one can argue, but you further added that he was a great ambassador of sport??? really!!!
what do you say about his false testimony against Symonds in symonds vs bhajji episode….
Also I do remember him selfishly making hundred against Bangladesh, took 35 balls to add last 15 runs….. he always preferred personal records over winning matches for India….
and what does that testimony say mate.. do you have any idea what you taking here.. baseless allegations against the role model of character in cricket.. do you knw the fuss behind that symonds tragedy.. its unfortunate rather.. harbhajan said something in hindi and symonds interpreted that in english.. it was just a case of miscommunication which escalated… if not for him, india would have looked way poor in all the previous world cups and many ODIs and Tests… just think before you talk..
It has been a privilege to watch Great Tendulkar bat. I hope he leaves the field on a high.
Sir ka akhri time chal ra hay kia karain
(saeed ajaml)
Cricket boards, specially their selection group should be run like professional companies – if you are not showing results you are out. Kicking out or keeping Sachin should be in the hands of selectors and not Sachin himself should decide this. It should be based purely on current performance which is well below par.
It is best time for him to retire rather than dropped from the team
I sense he feels the pressure himself…so i still believe that the retirement should be solely his decision!
It was his decision to become a cricketer. When he first picked up a cricket bat he didn’t ask for any advice, why should he listen to other peoples advice as to when he should put down his bat.
Some may like him to stay, some may not. But the decision to retire should be his and his alone. And that should be the case with every sportsman. Proffesional or amatuer.
When he first picked up his cricket bat , he was playing for himself; now he is playing for his country and a team of 11 players has no place to hide consistent non performers .That is why.
Sorry. No one plays for country. Every one plays for a fee including Tendulkar. It is his profession. Do we ask old lawyers, doctors, engineers, singers, actors, neighbourhood milkman, grocer to retire? We don’t, right? What we do in such cases is that we avoid them and look elsewhere. We can do the same with Tendulkar. Selectors can drop him. We can switch off the TV when he is batting. We can hold an opinion about him but can’t advice him about what he should do. That’s all. We think we own him. We don’t.
The example of lawyers, doctors, engineers, singers, actors, neighbourhood milkman, grocer do not apply here, BTW!!! A national cricket team is ‘supposed’ to be of 11 best players in the country who can deliver. The professions you mentioned have much longer life span and, it is true, that a day comes when the sun sets on all those too. The subject in this discussion is past his days. Go out with glory … and, admit that there is one fellow who can perform better than I. It is not about emotions. It is about representing your country with dignity and pride and deliver … Thats all!
Yes, we do own him because he represents our country and unlike the milkman, the lawyer, the grocer and the barber, he represents his country in a team sport and ‘TEAM’ is the key word here. I remember a match where Martin Crowe as captain demoted himself to twelfth man once an injured specialist bowler became fit on the morning of the match. If only our sub-continental stalwarts saw beyond their own self and fiefdoms, history would have been different. Our culture is so based on individual glory that we don’t mind sacrificing the team’s and country’s interest. A case is point is our now famous comentator Mr. Ravi Shastri who holds the dubious record for scoring the most centuries in matches which India lost due to his pontificating habits and slow batting on the pitch. Go get a life my friend.
Thanks. Firstly ,there aren’ t any restrictions on the number of lawyers in a bar council or the number of milkman serving your area and old and new alike offer their services and consumers like you choose what is best for you. Secondly ,this is a national cricket team with only 11 players and that too only 6 players in the batsmen role and a players consistent non performance can hurt the team and the nation besides setting precedents for the future. Hence each player owes it to his team and country to perform or move out. Thirdly , if the Selection Committee does its duty properly , free from pride and prejudices , this issue would not have arisen. Lastly , opinion reflected upon by the recipient becomes an advice . I hope mine becomes one. That’s all.
He will retire when he knows that Khallis will not break his test record of most runs. This guys is selfish and only plays for the stats.
Yes ! its time for Tendulkar to serve Indian Cricket team as a coach.
it has been proven time after time, not every good batsman could be a good coach. So my indian fans, it is time to get over Sachin and give chance to new talent that can prove even better than him. It is part of the game and I hope he follows good examples of Australians who knows when to quit unlike asian players who cannot let go. It is sad to see him this way, can someone help him get out of this misery that he is in and putting the entire Indian team.
You should go when people say “Why” not “Why Not”… as the saying goes…. It is unfortunate that in India we keep emotions over practicality and hence the team suffers. Sachin should realise that he is keeping couple of young indian hopefuls in the sideline because of his warped thinking…. We would never have Pujara if Dravid was adament….I really appreciate Australians…. Look at Waugh, Ponting and Gilchrist….. Sachin please learn from them !!!!!
Indians should stop worshipping him now and agree that it is time for Tendulkar to go….
We also want him to go. He has achieved a lot now he should vacant it for someone else.
Tendulkar: Please retire today. Indian selectors: Pleeeeease drop Tendulkar right away.
Agrees
AGREE