Sachin Tendulkar, the best Batsman ever in the History of Cricket has retired from One Day International Cricket after a long career spanning 23 years.
“I have decided to retire from the One-Day format of the game. I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup wining Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest,” the 39-year-old said in a statement released by the BCCI today.
“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 added.
Battling with form, Tendulkar’s move was on expected lines. Since the 2011 World Cup, the 39-year-old has scored only 315 runs from 10 games.
Yet his record in ODIs will be hard to beat.
He has played 463 ODIs, scored 18,426 runs and made 49 centuries — each figure a world record. He is also the first cricketer to hit a double-century in ODIs — 200 against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010.
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.
Tendulkar made his ODI debut against Pakistan way back in 1989 and interestingly he is quitting the scene just ahead of another series against the arch-rivals.
Tendulkar’s last ODI appearance was against Pakistan in Dhaka during the Asia Cup where he made a match-winning half-century.
During the Asia Cup, he also completed a century of centuries (49 in ODIs and 51 in Tests).
Tendulkar made his ODI debut in 1989 in Gujranwala, Pakistan, scoring a duck in the game.
It took him nine ODIs to get his maiden ODI half-century, 53, against Sri Lanka in Pune in 1990.
Tendulkar took the world by storm when he was asked to open the innings against New Zealand in Auckland in 1994. He smashed 82 off 49 balls.
Tendulkar had to wait 79 ODIs for his first three-figure score in ODIs — 110 against Australia in Colombo, 1994.
Since then he has re-written record books.
Tendulkar has scored most of his runs against Sri Lanka (3,113) and Australia (3,077). His back-to-back hundreds against Australia in a triangular tournament in 1998 at Sharjah mesmerized his fans.
The Mumbaikar, who made himself unavailable for Twenty20 after playing just one game in 2006, will now remain active in only the Test arena.
The brightest moment of his ODI career came last year when he finally became part of a World Cup winning Indian team after five previous appearances.
Tendulkar conveyed his decision to retire from the 50-over format to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president N. Srinivasan.
For BCCI, the news did not come as a shock.
Ratnakar Shetty, chief administrative officer of the BCCI, said: “He was waiting for the right and today he took the decision. The BCCI respects his decision.”