Published: Nov 18, 2013, 04:36 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 18, 2013, 04:36 PM (IST)
Sachin Tendulkar (above) deserved a grand farewell ceremony, said Zaheer Khan © Getty Images
By Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya
Nov 18, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013 will go down as one of the emotional days in a cricket fan’s diary. The drama around batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar‘s retirement reached the crescendo when the news of him being chosen to be awarded the Bharat Ratna flashed the television screens and websites. His Mumbai teammates, who were sweating it out against Delhi in a Ranji Trophy tie at Bandra Kurla Complex here, felt on top of the world too.
Zaheer Khan, now Mumbai captain, could not hold back a smile when asked about the Master Blaster.
“He has been there, done that. He was a true gentleman both on and off the field. He deserves every bit of it,” Khan said.
So what does he expect his old friend to do after retirement? “Well, you cannot take cricket out of Sachin. It will be great to see him connected to the game in some way or the other. He has played with the same passion for 24 years and it will be great to see him associated with the game.”
“No dressing room is complete without Sachin, call it India, Mumbai or IPL,” added Khan.
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) vice-president Ravi Savant had earlier said that the MCA would ask him to consider his retirement from the domestic format. What are the Mumbai players expecting?
“It is his decision and we respect everything he does. But yes, we all will be very happy to have him back. The team is elated that he is chosen for Bharat Ratna. I’m proud to have shared the dressing room with him,” said Hiken Shah, who gave him company for a long time in the middle in Tendulkar’s last Ranji match against Haryana at Lahli.
“The youngsters will benefit a lot if he sticks around the Mumbai dressing room. I was very nervous when I came out to bat in Lahli but Sachin told me “tu idhar tak aaya hai matlab tujhme talent hai, natural game khel (since you have come this far, you are talented, play your natural game),” added Shah.
(Before joining DNA sports, Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya worked with The Hindu Business Line as a freelancer, and in front and behind the camera for Broadcast Telecast Worldwide (Kolkata). Apart from penning and editing stories, he is also a photographer and a musician. The above article has been republished with permission from DNA, where it first appeared)
