Legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar revealed his special request to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for his final Test match in 2013.
Sachin Requested BCCI To Host His Last Match in Mumbai
The iconic player announced his retirement from all formats of the game in 2013 and played his last Test series against West Indies on home soil.
After eight years, the 48-year-old recalled his emotional moment when his mother, Rajni Tendulkar, was displayed on the big screen while he was batting in his final Test innings at the Wankhede. Tendulkar also mentioned that he had requested the Indian board to schedule his last Test in Mumbai for his mother to attend the match from the stands.
“When I was about to play my last match, I told the board… the BCCI, that these two games are going to be my last but my only request and my wish is that I play my last game in Mumbai so that my mother could come to the stadium and watch. So they graciously agreed to host the last game in Mumbai and that’s the only time she has seen me play live in 24 years,” Tendulkar told Graham Bensinger.
“It was unbelievable. I was batting. They showed her on that mega-screen and she wasn’t aware of it. And the whole stadium is watching her reaction. I was anyway emotional, and in those emotions, you need to stay focussed. That was an important over, the last six balls but what I saw on the mega-screen was equally important.”
Tendulkar revealed how during his entire career, no one from his family watched him play live, barring his brother Ajit.
“It started from my school days. I kind of hated anyone watching me live. So my brother would hide somewhere behind a tree and watch me the whole day. So my brother has seen every match of my life. So he would watch me and prepare his notes and we would be discussing that. Also, my brother kind of told all the family members that nobody is going to go and watch him. He has to perform… he has to score runs and if he is going to be distracted with family members, that is not going to work,” revealed Tendulkar.
In his final innings of his career, the greatest batsman of all-time scored 74 against West Indies.
