The usually composed Tendulkar broke down inside the dressing room after ending his Test career with a win against the West Indies
Sachin Tendulkar bid an emotional adieu to cricket on Saturday. While the batting icon was given a guard of honour by his teammates after Team India won by an innings and 126 runs to clinch the Test series 2-0 against the West Indies at the Wankhede, it was evident he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.
Sachin Tendulkar dabs away a tear after India beat West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Pic/Suresh KK
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He did well not to break down till the time the team took the dressing room’s steps. But once inside, Tendulkar burst into tears.u00a0“He cried like a baby,” a source in the dressing room told SUNDAY MiD DAY. “He sat in one corner for around five minutes. Nobody disturbed him. There was silence in the dressing room. But he regained his composure soon. The coach (Duncan Fletcher) gave a short speech. Tendulkar was his usual self very soon.”
Tendulkar was overwhelmed with the kind of reception he received. There was not a single person among the Wankhede crowd who wasn’t standing when the batting maestro left the ground.u00a0The source added that Tendulkar’s teammates did not cry. “There were no tears but they were all very emotional. Some took autographs on Tendulkar posters,” he said.
Anjali full of emotion
Anjali Tendulkar, like Sachin, is not known to show emotion. But the occasion overwhelmed her too. Did she shed tears behind those sunglasses when Tendulkar thanked her in his speech during the presentation function? It could well be. “The most beautiful thing happened to me in 1990 when I met my wife, Anjali. Those were special years and it has continued and will always continue that way.
I know Anjali, being a doctor, there was a wonderful career in front of her. When we decided to have a family, Anjali took the initiative to step back and say ‘you continue with your cricket and I will take the responsibility of the family’.
“Without that, I don’t think I would have been able to play cricket freely and without stress. Thanks for bearing with all my fuss and all my frustrations, and all sorts of rubbish that I have spoken. Thanks for bearing with me and always staying by my side through all the ups and downs. You are the best partnership I’ve had in my life,” Tendulkar said.u00a0
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