BCCI announce venues for West Indies series - Sachin Tendulkar to retire at Wankhede

FILE PHOTO: Sachin Tendulkar stands in front of the stand named after him in a Ranji Trophy match at Wankhede.

The Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar‘s home town, has been selected as the venue for his 200th Test, his last.

The iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host Tendulkar’s penultimate match of his career and the first Test of the 2-match series against West Indies, as decided by BCCI in a meeting today.

Sachin Tendulkar will retire after a glorious 24-year career at the end of this series and hence, the added hullabaloo around the choice of the venue.

The decision doesn’t come as a surprise as Sachin had already made known his preference for the venue to BCCI earlier.

“The match will be held in Mumbai as desired by Tendulkar. We will decide the venue on Tuesday when we meet to finalise the venues of the series,” BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla had said last week.

Sachin has also expressed his desire to see his mother at the ground for his last match.

The Test at Kolkata will be held from November 6-10, followed by the last Test in Mumbai from November 14-18.

In 10 matches played at Wankhede so far, Tendulkar has scored 847 runs at an average of 47.06 with one hundred to his name. At Eden Gardens, where he’s played more Tests than anywhere in India, he has made 862 runs at 47.89 in 12 matches, including 2 centuries.

However, Sachin’s favourite ground in India remains Chepauk in Chennai. In 10 matches there, he has amassed 970 runs at an average of 88.18 and scored 5 centuries.

Media Alert- India vs West Indies, 1st Test : November 6-10 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata #IndvWI #BornToPlayCricket #SachinTendulkar

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 15, 2013

Media Alert- India vs West Indies, 2nd Test : November 14-18 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai #IndvWI #BornToPlayCricket #SachinTendulkar

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 15, 2013