Goodbye and good luck
A round-up of tributes and comments on ESPNcricinfo on Tendulkar's retirement
17-Nov-2013
Indian players give Tendulkar a guard of honour • BCCI
Sachin Tendulkar's final Test lasted less than three days, but the tributes and celebrations for his career will continue for a while now. Here is a collection of videos and pieces on ESPNcricinfo. MS Dhoni calls him the greatest cricketer of all time.
Sidharth Monga, who was at the Wankhede on that final day, gives a blow-by-blow account of Tendulkar's movements and the fans' reactions to every one of them.
People in the stands either wanted Tendulkar to bowl or West Indies to score a lot of runs so they could see Tendulkar bat. Before the start of the 17th over, it seemed they had had their first wish. Tendulkar went from short-fine leg towards the umpire, the crowd left their seats and began to applaud, only to see he was taking R Ashwin's cap over to the umpire. What a tease. What a ritual, though - one he had going with Anil Kumble. During Kumble's perfect ten, Tendulkar insisted he hand the bowler's cap over to the umpire. He did so before Kumble's last over in Test cricket too. Now he was beginning to do the same for Kumble's successors.
Sanjay Manjrekar says that in his time as a television commentator, apart from when India won the 2011 World Cup, it was seeing Tendulkar's wife, Anjali, tearing up during her husband's farewell speech, that made him very emotional.
Ajit Agarkar talks about the impact Tendulkar has had on the very young Indian dressing room and on Indian cricket. "Each young kid who comes now says he wants to become Sachin Tendulkar. That's his biggest legacy."
Nagraj Gollapudi captures the waves of emotion that swept through the Wankhede during Tendulkar's speech and lap of honour.
The lap of honour started form the MCA Pavilion and inched towards the Sunil Gavaskar Stand. MS Dhoni tapped on Tendulkar's shoulder telling him his team-mates would like to carry him aloft on their shoulders. Tendulkar just smiled. Enough for Dhoni and Virat Kohli to lift him up instantly. Tendulkar sat upright. Unburdened. Waving the Indian tri-colour.
Anjali walked behind the palanquin, not like a wife but just one of the crowd. Arjun kept a close eye on his old man. Like a bodyguard he craned his neck here and there to make sure no suspicious elements had managed to sneak past the security cordon. Nitin Patel (physio) and Maane kaka (Ramesh Mane, masseur) carried on clapping like they were on a Tendulkar yatra (pilgrimage).
The crowd, meanwhile, was going mad. Like slaves in olden times the thousands raised their hands from all tiers across every stand chanting "Saaachin", as if he were saviour who could release them from their misery. It was one of the many touching moments on the day.
And in case you missed it, here's the full text of Tendulkar's speech.
Over at the Cordon, Jarrod Kimber urges Tendulkar's fans to protect his legacy and the game that made him.
Because if something doesn't happen to cricket soon, Sachin's records won't mean much. If Test cricket continues to be eaten away at, Sachin's legacy will diminish. If West Indies drop off the international cricket map, will the deeds of a teenager against them still be thought of as something amazing. If nation v nation cricket becomes little more than the odd friendly before a global tournament, why will it matter if Sachin scored a hundred international hundreds? If the T20 leagues of the world finally take over, will new fans look at Sachin's T20 career and wonder what the fuss is about? If World Cups aren't played anymore, who cares if he won one?
Ahmer Naqvi delves into religion to better understand Sachin mania.
When people ask why all this is being done for one person, or why Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman didn't get such farewells, or why the FTP is being disrupted for one man, they are asking valid questions but ones that are irrelevant to this context. The debate about who was great and who wasn't ends here with the people. Because ultimately, this celebration is not for Sachin, it is for his devotees.