The Legendary Cricket Sachin Tendulkar‘s farewell was one of the most emotional moments in Indian cricket as the master blaster was seen struggling to hold back tears, being lifted on the shoulders of his teammates.
He recalled the moment during the 50th anniversary of the Wankhede Stadium and also revealed why he requested BCCI to schedule his farewell test in Mumbai.
Sachin said that he requested the Indian Cricket Board to schedule it at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai so that his mother could watch him play.
Speaking at the ceremony, Tendulkar reflected on the emotional final day of the test match against West Indies and said he would never forget the support wavered by fans.
“Before the series was announced, I got in touch with the BCCI and made one request. I asked that I wanted my last match to be held in Mumbai for one reason: I played cricket for so many years—24 years for India, and nearly 30 years overall.”
Legendary Capture with the #ChampionsTrophy #Wankhede50 ♥️ pic.twitter.com/WhjJDfKQsN
— Sachin Tendulkar Fan Club (@OmgSachin) January 19, 2025
“But my mother had never seen me play. At that time (during the farewell Test), my mother’s health was not good. She could not travel anywhere other than Wankhede to watch me play.”
“I wanted her to see why I have been moving to different places for 24 years. The BCCI very graciously accepted that request,” Tendulkar said.
He also commented that the producer of the Broadcaster was working against him by showing visuals of his emotional family, including his mother, while he was batting in the middle.
“When I went in to bat on the first day, it was towards the end of play. When I walked out to bat, the West Indies players gave me a lot of respect. The crowd gave me a very good reception. I was a bit emotional.”
“My eyes were tearing up, but I had to focus. I had to bat. But, just before the last over, I saw the big screen at the stadium.”
“There was a close-up frame of my mother. She didn’t realise that she was being shown on the big screen. I was thinking if all these shots were necessary because it was the last six balls of the day,” Tendulkar said.
“I doubted the director of the broadcast had a West Indies passport because I thought he was acting in favour of the West Indies. He was playing with my emotions,” he added.
Tendulkar has played over 200 tests for India and has scored 15,921 runs which is the world record for the most runs in the red-ball cricket. He also has 51 centuries and 68 fifties in the test format.
