India’s legendary Tendulkar retires from one-day cricket

NEW DELHI

Indian cricketer Tendulkar is seen celebrating scoring his 100th century during an Asia Cup match against Bangladesh in Dhaka in this March 16 photo. AP Photo

Ending days of speculation, batting great Sachin Tendulkar yesterday announced his retirement from one-day cricket, bringing to an end a glorious 23-year-old career in the format during which he rewrote numerous records.

Tendulkar’s decision came just hours before the selectors were scheduled to announce the team for the limited overs series against Pakistan starting tomorrow.

Tendulkar spoke to BCCI (Board Of Control For Cricket in India) president N. Srinivasan and and conveyed his decision to retire from the ODI format. “I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup wining Indian team,” said Tendulkar in a statement.

Tendulkar said it was high time for the team to prepare to defend its title in the 2015 World Cup.
“The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years,” he said.

Tendulkar, considered the most complete batsman in modern cricket and one who was considered next only to the legendary Sir Donald Bradman, retires from the ODI format at the top of the run-getters’ list.
Tendulkar goes out after amassing 18,426 runs in 463 one-dayers at an average of 44.83. The diminutive right-hander has an astonishing 49 hundreds in the format, including a double hundred -- the first in this form of the game. It was unclear if Tendulkar will continue to play Test cricket, where he has scored a record 15,645 runs in 194 matches at an average of 54.32 with 51 centuries.