Sachin Tendulkar reveals why he asked the BCCI to play his last Test at the Wankhede Stadium
Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has revealed that he has requested the BCCI to play the last match of his career at his home ground at the Wankhede Stadium. He said he wanted his mother to see him play because he was not well and could only travel to that place.
Sachin Tendulkar ended his career as the best batsman cricket has ever seen. The big batsman played his last match in the longest format of the game during the home Test series against the West Indies National Cricket Team at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Sachin Tendulkar scored a magnificent half-century to finish with a 73-run collapse in his last Test
It is fair to say that his last Test seemed more than a festival in Mumbai as the Wankhede stadium was packed and all that could be heard was chants of “Sachin Sachin”. The match was played from November 14 to 16 and it was a perfect ending for him.
Sachin Tendulkar hit a magnificent half-century and ended up falling by 73 runs. Along with him, centuries by Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara helped India win by a huge margin of an innings and 126 runs.
I wanted her to see why I have been moving to different places for 24 years – continues Sachin Tendulkar
While talking about his last match, Sachin Tendulkar said he told the BCCI to keep his last Test at the Wankhede so his mother could see why he had been moving to different places for 24 years. Speaking about the 50th anniversary of the Wankhede Stadium, he said:
“Before the series was announced, I got in touch with the BCCI and made one request. I asked that I want my last match to be played in Mumbai for one reason: I have played cricket for so many years – 24 years for India, and almost 30 years, but my mother has never seen me play.
“At that time (during the farewell Test), my mother’s health was not good. She could not travel anywhere except Wankhede to watch me play. I wanted her to see why I was moving to different places for 24 years. BCCI very kindly accepted that request.”
I was a bit emotional, my eyes were watering – Sachin Tendulkar
While talking about playing the last Test, he mentioned that he got emotional with the kind of reception he got from the crowd and the West Indies. He also spoke about how the broadcaster played with his emotions by showing pictures of his mother and other members of his emotional family. He added:
“When I went to bat on the first day, it was towards the end of the game. When I came out to bat, the West Indies players showed me a lot of respect. The crowd took me very well. I was My eyes were watering but I had to focus, but I saw the big screen in the stadium.
“There was a close-up shot of my mother. She didn’t realize she was being shown on the big screen. I wondered if all this footage was necessary because it was the last six balls of the day. I suspected the director of the show had a West Indian passport because I thought works in favor of the West Indies. He played with my emotions.”
Also read: ‘Only openers are fixed’: Axar Patel exposes chaos in India’s T20I batting order
