'You cannot script those things' - Sachin Tendulkar on his farewell speech

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell speech, which followed his retirement from all formats of cricket on November 16, 2013, will probably go down as the best one ever. When asked about how he managed to deliver such an extraordinary speech, which lasted for 20 minutes, he said: “I was flying back from Kolkata to Mumbai and then I realised that this is going to be my last match. I was sitting alone and you know I better think of something, think of people I need to mention because before I realise, Mumbai match would also be over and all of a sudden, I would be standing in front of my peers.

“Then the whole world would be waiting for me to say something. Something, which I didn’t want to do was to miss out on any name, any important name that I wanted to mention.”

He added, “It was a special moment for me. I mentioned all the names and rest of the things came from my heart. I knew I would get emotional and hence for safety, I was carrying a bottle of water as well which kept me going. But those things you cannot script. It’s the Almighty’s wish. Everything went off much much better than what I had expected.”

He also appreciated the support of the public, saying, “The love and affection which I received over a period when I announced my retirement was unreal. I had never seen anything like that. The way people greeted me, it was a special moment and something which goes beyond what I couldn’t express. Coming back to my longest speech ever, it wasn’t rehearsed and just came from my heart.”