The Indian team might be basking in the glory of their recent Test series win against England but it is never a bad time to travel back down memory lane to re-visit the annals of cricketing history. Especially if the event is the retirement of the Little Master.
On this day, exactly four years ago, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from ODI cricket. It was a quiet press release, an exit not with a bang, but a tired whimper.
In fact, the way it was done did not quite match the magnitude of the occasion. This was Sachin Tendulkar after all, the man who redefined Indian cricket in the 90s. Most of the fans thought that there couldn't be a more fitting moment than when he was carried by his teammates on their shoulders around the Wankhede after winning the 2011 World Cup.
Also read: SK Flashback: Sachin Tendulkar makes his ODI debut in 1989
But Tendulkar had missed his moment. He chose to play on for a little more than a year though he never quite reached the same heights again. And when the announcement came, everyone knew that his time was up.
Some of his teammates were too young to remember the time when Tendulkar had made his debut. Amongst them, it was like being a dinosaur in the dressing room, after the game had moved on to embrace a whole new generation of cricketers.
A quiet announcement
On December 23, 2012, Tendulkar announced his retirement from the 50-over format of the game in a quiet press release.
He said in the statement, “I have decided to retire from the ODI format of the game. I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup-winning Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in the right earnest.”
“I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well-wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years.”
Tendulkar left ODI cricket after having played 463 matches, scored 18,426 runs and 49 centuries. He was also the first batsman to score a double hundred in ODI cricket when he achieved the feat against South Africa in 2010.
Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain and Tendulkar's long-time friend, who shared many illustrious opening partnerships with him, expressed his surprise about the fact that Tendulkar chose to retire ahead of the series against Pakistan.
“I felt that he might have played the series against Pakistan. But it is his decision and I think it is right,” he said.
But Tendulkar had struggled to hit good form that year and when he achieved his 100th international ton against Bangladesh, there was very little left to play for.
His body, worn and battle-weary, was refusing to comply with the hunger in the mind. The time was right to leave the game keeping in mind the 50-over World Cup in Australia two years later.
Unpleasant controversies
It was later learnt, however, that the selectors and a few BCCI members had an inkling of what was to come. Tendulkar had reportedly informed N. Srinivasan and the then BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale of his decision.
"He spoke to me and the president about his decision. Naturally, he must have been (emotional) I can't say we just spoke on the phone," Jagdale said.
"What he has expressed is his concern that India has to prepare for the next World Cup," the BCCI's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty added. "From that point of view, he felt that it was time that he retired."
But the most sensational controversy was, of course, created by the former chief selector Sandeep Patil, who claimed that Tendulkar would have been dropped from ODIs had he not announced his retirement back then.
In an interview with ABP News and the Marathi channel ABP Majha, Patil said, "On 12 December, 2012, we met Sachin and asked him about his future plans. He said he did not have retirement on his mind. But the selection committee had reached a consensus on Sachin...and had informed the board too about it.
"Perhaps Sachin understood what was coming, because, at the time of the next meeting, he called and said he was retiring (from ODIs). If he had not announced his decision to quit then, we would have definitely dropped him.
"Sachin wanted to concentrate more on Test cricket. He called me and Sanjay Jagdale (the then BCCI secretary). Then it was collectively decided that he will retire from ODIs."
Patil, however, refused to divulge whether Tendulkar had been forced into his ODI retirement by the selectors.
The BCCI president, Anurag Thakur, later expressed his displeasure with Patil's comment and said it was 'unethical' of him to divulge confidential details.
Tendulkar went on playing Test cricket for a year until he retired from the game later next year. The BCCI organised a special Test series for him against the West Indies in 2013 when the batting maestro left the cricketing arena for the last time to a hero's farewell.
