India Abroad - March 30, 2012

SPORTS

Selfish to retire when on top: Tendulkar
With a phenomenal century of hundreds under his belt, iconic Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar says he is in o mood to retire.
He struck his 100th international century in an Asia Cup
match against Bangladesh March 16, ending a
yearlong wait to reach the milestone.
‘My belief is that if I feel I can contribute…I am
bringing value to the team then I should be playing.
It’s a very selfish thought that when you are at the top
you should retire,’ Tendulkar told an Indian television
news channel. ‘When you are at the top, you should serve the
nation. When I feel I am not in a frame of mind to contribute to
the nation, that’s when I should retire,’ he said.
The master blaster added it was tough to deal with the hype
and criticism during the prolonged wait for his 100th ton.
‘(There was) more of a relief because my 99th hundred was
against South Africa (during the World Cup) and after that
media didn’t speak about my 100th hundred while the World
Cup was on,’ he said. ‘I missed the West Indies tour and some-
how there was speculation that I wanted to score the 100 in
England at Lord’s but a hundred doesn’t come as and when you
want.’
Tendulkar said that the past one year was the toughest phase
of his life although he batted reasonably well but sometimes the
pressure was difficult to handle although the 100th ton didn’t
play on his mind before being hyped by the media.
Responding to criticism that he played only for milestones, he
said, ‘There are certain people I respect and others that I don’t.
So I don’t get affected by ones I don’t respect, they have their
opinions, it doesn’t matter much.’
The master blaster revealed that India’s World Cup win was
the most important moment of his life. ‘I don’t think anything
gets bigger than that. Personal milestones are created along that
path where you have got a bigger goal and the bigger goal was
to play for the nation,’ he said, adding that he was glad the
hoopla around the 100th ton had finally ended.
MANIK SHAH/REU TERS
Virat Kohli made a blistering 183 runs in 148 balls
against Pakistan in an Asia Cup game, March 18

— Inputs: Press Trust of India
Kohli should succeed Dravid: Ganguly
ANDREW BIRAJ/REUTERS

Saluting Sachin
‘What stands out in an exceptional career of unbelievable achieve-
ments is Sachin Tendulkar’s ability to change, adapt and mould his
batting according to the conditions around him.’

‘We are delighted at Tendulkar’s 100th century as he is the pride of
the subcontinent.’
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
‘Congrats to Sachin on reaching his 100th international 100 — just
awesome buddy Please press no retirement Q’S and let Sachin enjoy
the moment.’
Australian spinner Shane Warne
‘Great player and wonderful ambassador for our great game.’
Former England captain Tony Greig
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said Virat Kohli, who powered India’s win over Pakistan in an Asia Cup
game in Bangladeh, March 18, was the
ideal batsman to fill in Rahul Dravid’s
shoes at number three.
Lauding Kohli’s blistering 183 runs in 148
balls against Pakistan, Ganguly said, ‘He is
the next big thing in Indian cricket. I’ve
never seen a better one-day innings in my
22 years career. I hope he fills up the place
of the champion Rahul Dravid at No 3.’
Kohli has been riding high on the wave of
success. Last month at Hobart, Australia,
his 133 off 86 balls helped India overhaul
Sri Lanka’s 320 with 13.2 overs to spare.
This year his overall one-day internation-
al average stands at a mind-boggling 73
with a strike rate of 97 while last year he
was the world’s highest scorer in ODIs.
After 85 games, Kohli has scored 11 cen-
turies and his overall strike rate 86.31 is
third only to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s
96.26 and Vivian Richards’s 86.99 at the
same stage. Out of Kohli’s 11 centuries, 10
have come in winning causes; seven of
them in a run chase.

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