Steve Waugh to retire - next year in India

Steve Waugh has said that he would like to retire at the end of Australia's tour of India in 2004. He then intends to devote more time to Udayan, the Kolkata home for children of leprosy patients which he supports.

According to a report by The Press Trust of India, Waugh said in an interview in Sydney: "I would like to end my career in India." He has long described India as the "final frontier" for the Australian team to conquer, and swore after Australia's defeat in 2001 that he would be back to set the record straight.

That is not, however, reason for Khaled Mahmud and his boys to relax - Waugh has not forgotten Bangladesh. "The India series is still a long way off," Waugh said, "and I am focussing on Bangladesh at the moment." One can imagine him rubbing his hands in glee as he says this.

For all the brutality Waugh inflicts on the cricket field, though, at heart he remains a softie. His support - monetary and otherwise - for Udayan has earned him immense respect in India. Waugh does not stop at charitable donations - the girls' wing at Udayan was funded by him - but visits the home regularly. He explained his commitment thus: "Udayan is my pursuit for life. It is not something you start and give up. I am committed to continued support to Udayan.

"We are soon going to start another school for 200 needy children," Waugh added. He admitted that despite being a celebrity, raising funds was a difficult matter, and said that "it would be good to get some funding from businesses in Australia and India".

Waugh had recently announced his plans to make a film based on Udayan, which has already been scripted, though, as of now, there is no director or producer. Waugh did not clarify rumours as to whether he would act in the film, but merely said, pithily, "I am a cricketer".

Until next year, when Australia come to India, he certainly is.