Former Indian national cricket team batsman Sachin Tendulkar has revealed how he requested the BCCI to organize the last match of his career at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium. He said he wanted his mother to see him perform as he was not well and could only travel to that place.
Sachin Tendulkar ended his career as the best batsman the game of cricket has ever witnessed. The batsman played his last game 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 slammed a magnificent half-century and finished with a knock of 73 runs in his last Test
It is fair to say that his last Test seemed more like a festival in Mumbai as the Wankhede Stadium was packed and all that could be heard were chants of 'Sachin Sachin'. The match was played between November 14-16 and was the perfect ending for him.
Sachin Tendulkar slammed a magnificent half-century and ended with a knock of 73 runs. Along with him, centuries from Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara helped India win the game by a massive innings margin and 126 runs.
I wanted her to see why I moved to different places for 24 years – Sachin Tendulkar on
While talking about his last match, Sachin Tendulkar said he told the BCCI to keep his last Test in the Wankhede so that his mother could see why he moved to different places for 24 years. Speaking at the 50th anniversary of the Wankhede Stadium, he said:
“Before the series was announced, I got in touch with the BCCI and made a request. I asked for my last match to be played in Mumbai for one reason: I had played cricket for so many years—24 years for India and almost 30 years in total, but my mother had never seen me play.
“At that time (during the farewell test), my mother's health was not good. He couldn't travel anywhere but Wankhede to see me play. I wanted her to see why I've been moving to different places for 24 years. BCCI has very graciously accepted this request.”
I was a bit emotional, my eyes were watering – Sachin Tendulkar
While talking about playing the last Test, he mentioned that with the kind of reception he got from the crowd and the West Indies, he got emotional. He also spoke about how the broadcaster played with his emotions by showing images of his mother and other emotional family members. He added:
“When I came in to bat on the first day, it was towards the end of the game. When I came out to bat, the West Indies players gave me a lot of respect. The crowd gave me a really good reception. I was a teary-eyed eyes, but I had to concentrate.
“It was a close-up of my mother. She didn't realize she was being shown on the big screen. I was wondering if all these shots were necessary because it was the last six balls of the day. I doubted the Show Director had a passport for West Indies because I thought he was acting in favor of West Indies. He was playing with my emotions.
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