Sachin Tendulkar kept out of the team huddle by skipper MS Dhoni for a reason

In yesterday’s press conference before a large media assembly, Sachin Tendulkar revealed that India captain MS Dhoni had not allowed him to be a part of the team huddle at the end of the second Test between India and the West Indies at the Wankhede stadium.

Tendulkar said that as he ran towards the centre of the field at the fall of the last wicket, Dhoni politely told him to stay away from the celebration.

The reason was, of course, the running guard of honour that the team had planned for him so that Tendulkar would be feted off the ground, all the way till the boundary line.

“It was a fairy-tale farewell. The kind of send-off my team gave me, I think that was also very emotional. When West Indies lost nine wickets, the whole team gathered in the middle and MS Dhoni said ‘Paaji, you please leave us alone, you go because we’re planning something for you. We don’t want you to be here.’ And, I’m like wondering what are they planning, they’re up to something,” Sachin told NDTV on Sunday.

Later the captain and vice-captain pairing of Dhoni and Virat Kohli took Tendulkar around the stadium on a lap of honour, resting him on their shoulders.

It is to be noted that Dhoni had carried out a similar such act on the retirement of other stalwarts such as Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble.

“I will miss being with the team because when you’re travelling with the team the energy is something. Every time you are thinking about the opposition, and you want to be a step ahead of the opposition. So even if you are having dinner, casually, or even cracking jokes with your friends, but somewhere it will come that this is how you need to bowl to a particular batsman or rather when that bowler bowls we need to do this and this is how you need to face the ball. So somewhere you sub conscious mind is constantly working and your mind is constantly occupied thinking about the game. So I will miss that,” he said.

The master batsman also said that he plans to write an autobiography, and that while still some amount of time away, a lot of effort had already gone into it.

“Yes, I’m planning to write an autobiography and obviously fair amount of work has gone behind that but we’re still some time away from it. Something I would like the people to know about my life,” he said.