Sachin will retire after his 200th test says Karsan Ghavri

Erstwhile Indian seamer Karsan Ghavri feels that there is a good possibility that Sachin Tendulkar might bid adieu to the game he has come to symbolize for so many people in India and across the world after playing his 200th test. The landmark game will be played during the upcoming tour of South Africa. Ghavri feels that Sachin is in possession of virtually every batting record and it would be really wonderful if he could achieve another milestone in the form of a 200th test game. He is of the opinion that Sachin has been waiting for the right time and will retire as soon as he plays his 200th test.

Ghavri feels that Sachin is the greatest ambassador for India as far as sports is concerned. At present he has played 198 tests and needs to play a couple of tests more to get to what Ghavri feels could be the last time we see him on the cricket ground at least in an international match. The former Indian seamer also opines that even when Tendulkar retires he shall not be totally out of the game and will continue to be a part of the proceedings. In a career spanning more than 20 years Sachin has built up a legacy second to none and amassed records that may not be ever broken.

While Ghavri is right in providing his valuable opinion by virtue of being a decorated ex-cricketer himself it needs to be kept in mind that at the end of the day a cricketer like Tendulkar has earned the right to decide when to call it a day. Previously we have seen Saurav Ganguly, another well opinionated ex cricketer and one of the greatest to have played for the country, providing his views on when Sachin should be hanging up his boots. It is all fine since India is a democratic country but at times, people need to realize the consequence of their doing.

Tendulkar already had to retire owing to the relentless carping of former cricketers such as Sanjay Manjrekar as well as Sunil Gavaskar, whom he idolized since he was a child. It was fairly strange afterwards to see them sing odes of praise once he bid adieu to the limited overs arena. A strong test team is built with a core of experienced players and especially more so in the batting department since this version of the game often sees the dominance of bowlers who are not held back by silly rules about the number of overs they can bowl or the amount of fielders they can have – it is cricket at its purest.

If we look at successful test teams around the world at the moment like South Africa and England both these teams have a core of experienced players in the batting line up – names like Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Matt Prior and Jonathan Trott for England and Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers for South Africa. If you take Tendulkar out of the equation, the Indian batting line up will be pretty inexperienced one with only Kohli and Dhoni having a certain amount of experience – even Kohli with his limited overs achievements, is yet to properly find his feet in the longer version. India has already lost the likes of Dravid and Laxman and would do well with the services of Tendulkar as long as possible so that the young guns have someone to guide them when the going gets tough.

In case Tendulkar retires after the South Africa series the selectors may need to look at names like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag or Gautam Gambhir for shoring up the inexperienced middle order. Raina is also an option but the problem is that he has not really made a test spot for himself in all these years. Since India is looking to play with 5 bowlers nowadays the think tank would need to field the strongest possible batting line up to reduce the pressure on the likes of Dhoni, Jadeja and, to a certain extent, Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Related Information:

Sachin Tendulkar Biography