The Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar said Sunday that he was retiring from One Day International cricket.
“I have decided to retire from the One Day format of the game. I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup winning Indian team,” Tendulkar said in a statement released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
With the decision, Tendulkar, who enjoys Godlike stature for many in India and abroad, drew the curtain on a 23-year career in the format, called O.D.I., having played 463 O.D.I.s, scored 18,426 runs and made 49 centuries. He holds the record for being the highest run scorer in this format of the game and has also made the largest number of centuries, played the greatest number of games and, along with the former Indian batsman Rahul Dravid, holds the record for highest partnership (331 runs against New Zealand).
Understandably, his decision has left some very distraught Indian cricket fans, who expressed their grief and almost a sense of bereavement on Twitter and other social media platforms.
“Tendulkar retires from ODI. End of an era. For the past 20 years, we were fortunate to watch & enjoy some amazing cricket, thanks to him,” an orthodontist based in Malaysia, who uses the Twitter handle Sabarinathan, tweeted.
“Finally world Ended in 2012,” a reader named Ashish, from Pune, commented on a Times of India story about the retirement.
B.C.C.I. officials, however, seemed less than perturbed.
“Tendulkar’s decision is not a shocker for B.C.C.I. He was waiting for the right time,” Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer, told reporters. “What he has expressed is his concern that India has to prepare for the next World Cup. From that point of view, he felt that it was time that he retired.”
“A person of his caliber knows what to do. He has always taken the right decision at the right time. He will continue to do that in future as well,” Sanjay Jagdale, the board’s general secretary, told reporters.
Reaction from the cricketing community in India was mixed.
“Sachin tendulkar a great batsman.great human being.a great friend.great man to look up 2.proud indian.Real son of india.I salute u nd love u,” the cricketer Harbhajan Singh tweeted.
“He has done Indian cricket a favor…. He has played a great deal of cricket and no one can compare to him but all I can say is: better late than never,” the former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad said in an interview with the news channel ABP.
Some fans, too, lauded Tendular’s decision as the right move at the right time.
“A late, but correct decision by Tendulkar. He will be missed but time had come,” Imran Asghar, who according to his Twitter profile is a British Pakistani, tweeted.
Tendulkar, it seems, has a special connection with India’s archrival, Pakistan. He made his debut in O.D.I.s, nearly two decades ago, against Pakistan on Dec. 18, 1989. His last O.D.I. was also against Pakistan, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, during the Asia Cup last March, where he scored 52 runs. India won the match.
Coincidentally his announcement came on a day when the Indian team for the two T20s and three O.D.I. matches with Pakistan, which will start next week, was announced.
“Sachin’s announcement has come as a big surprise,” Krishnamachari Srikkanth, former chairman of the selection committee for the Indian team, told news channel CNN-IBN. “I thought he would play in the one-day series against Pakistan.”
Despite a string of poor performances recently, Tendulkar bid adieu to his home audience in style. His last O.D.I. played in India was the World Cup final match against Sri Lanka in his hometown, Mumbai. India won the match and World Cup 2011, following a nearly three-decade wait after its 1983 World Cup victory.
“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,” he said in his statement.
However, he has announced no plans to retire from Test matches, the longer five-day format of the game.
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