Sachin Tendulkar expresses desire to play 200th Test in Mumbai

Sachin Tendulkar

According to BCCI sources, Sachin Tendulkar wishes to play his 200th Test match in Mumbai. He wants to play this milestone match at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium.

Though there is no formal announcement of this yet, Sachin will be playing his 200th Test in front of his home crowd, reports NDTV. The Cricket Association of Bengal is also willing to host this eventful match at Eden Gardens.However the underlying fact is that neither Kolkata or Mumbai can host this match according to the rotation policy of BCCI.

A senior BCCI functionary said: “Since Sachin has expressed something, it is difficult to say no. Plus from a sentimental standpoint, he deserves to play in Mumbai.” A formal decision is expected on October 3 when the fixtures committee announces the dates of the December Test and ODI series against the West Indies.

Sachin who currently averages 53.86 in Tests, scoring 51 centuries, hasn’t been in top notch this year. Rumours of his retirement have been spreading quite a lot in the last few weeks.

Eden Gardens has been widely speculated as the official choice for the said match, but even a CAB official felt that any Test cricketer would want to cross such a milestone in front of the home fans.

“We are not expecting to host the game because Tendulkar has already made it public that he wants to play in Mumbai. Let’s say if Sourav Ganguly was playing his 200th Test, would he choose Mumbai? If it comes to Eden Gardens, we will make a grand show of Sachin’s Test, but if we don’t get to host, we will accept that too.” said a senior CAB official.