The Mumbai camp is mulling a surprise farewell for Sachin Tendulkar, who will probably play his last Ranji Trophy match when the defending champions clash with Haryana in Lahli from October 27.
The Little Master will retire from international cricket after his 200th Test at the Wankhede from November 14-18. A source said senior players Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane and Abhishek Nayar and coach Sulakshan Kulkarni are in ‘secret’ talks regarding the planning of the big bash.
Pravin Tambe during Mumbai’s practice session at Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pic/Suresh KK
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“The celebration would mostly be at the team hotel as that is the only place where the players will have privacy,” the source said. “There might be a small celebration in the dressing room on the last day of the match as everyone would be in a hurry to catch the flight.”
The source revealed a few things that are being thought about: “Speeches from players, a cake with Tendulkar’s photo on it, the players’ favourite moments with Tendulkar etc.” There is also a plan to create a short video which will have Tendulkar’s pictures from the players’ personal collection, but it will depend on the time at hand.
Jaffer said there would be a special plan to felicitate the Mumbai maestro. “I don’t know as of now. But definitely we will plan something after reaching there,” the former Mumbai skipper said.
MCA’s personal tribute to Sachin
A grand felicitation on November 11 notwithstanding, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has decided to pay a personal tribute to Tendulkar. MCA president Sharad Pawar has entrusted the responsibility to one of his vice-presidents Vijay Patil to bring out a 50-page brochure which will have personal tributes to the maestro from top Indian cricketers.
“We have already started our preparation. We are aiming to get views of some of the Indian greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid. Tendulkar’s former captains like Mohammed Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and many others. We are restricting it to just Indian cricketers because of the time constraints,” Patil told MiD DAY.
The managing committee of the MCA would decide later whether the brochure would be complimentary with tickets or for sale at the stadium. “This is one of the ways to give some personal touch to the whole event. It is going to be a historic match,” said Patil.
Tambe bowls to Mumbai boys
Pravin Tambe, the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Champions League T20, made an unassuming entry at the Wankhede yesterday to bowl to Mumbai players in the nets ahead of their season opener against Haryana.
Tambe, who represents DY Patil Sports Academy in local leagues, bowled to all the players including Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar batted for around half-an-hour before taking throwdowns.u00a0“I came to bowl to them as I wasn’t playing any match today. They did not ask me to come. I wanted to bowl to them,” Tambe told MiD DAY.
The leggie, who will again bowl to Tendulkar today in the final practice session before the team leaves for Haryana, is expecting to catch up with the batting maestro to get a feedback about his bowling.u00a0 u00a0u00a0
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