Let Sachin go, it will be okay
India's national selectors and the BCCI must now ask the critical questions of Sachin Tendulkar
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
India's national selectors and the BCCI must now ask the critical questions of Sachin Tendulkar. Retirements from international sport are deeply personal and deservedly so, but is it really time for others to make decisons for Tendulkar? Gaurav Kalra writes in Cricketnext.
Cricket has often shown us how a man's destiny may or may not be in his own hands. For every Imran Khan who bids farewell on the day he wins a World Cup, there's a Javed Miandad, crawling out in ignominy. For every Sunil Gavaskar who produces a master-class in his final skirmish with an arch rival, there is a Kapil Dev who zealously drags an inadequate body towards a personal milestone. Cricketers are a self-serving breed but unlike us average Joes this is not a character flaw. They draw sustenance for the daily grind from the streak.
“Go when people ask why and not why not,” was Vijay Merchant’s sagacious advice to all cricketers, but most find themselves betwixt and between this. Choosing when to retire is one of the hardest decisions for an elite sportsman, and countless studies show that many have got it wrong, writes Ayaz Memon in Livemint.
Retirement is a complex and painful process in any walk of life, but even more so for an elite sportsperson. Research shows most athletes are poorly prepared for retiring. They miss the competition, the money and the adulation. They are also scared of adjustments to a new identity and a new way of life.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo