Kolkata: Former India Test captain and long-time teme-mate Sourav Ganguly said he would have retired earlier if he had been in Sachin Tendulkar’s shoes.
Forty-year-old Tendulkar will quit the game after playing his 200th Test match starting on Thursday.
“Only because he is Sachin Tendulkar, he could get a run for three years. Nobody else in the world or Indian cricket would have got that much of time. I am happy that he is going,” Ganguly said during a Cricket Association of Bengal-organised event.
“It’s a fact which you have to accept that at one stage you have to go. When Sachin sits down after the Mumbai Test and looks at his career, he will say to himself I have done proud and there is nothing which I have not achieved,” Ganguly said. “If I probably went on for six more months, it wouldn’t have helped me or cricket,” said Ganguly during a chat show also involving West Indian great Brian Lara.
Describing Tendulkar as a “champion”, Ganguly said it was appropriate for the maestro to retire after playing on his home ground.
“For me, he is a champion and deserves all the adulation and respect. It’s great that he will go on a high playing on his home ground. Had he gone to South Africa, he would have received half the adulation that he is getting now,” said the southpaw.
Ganguly also praised current India skipper M S Dhoni for his knack of backing the right players.
“Backing players as a captain is important because it’s the players who win you the game and nothing else. You see Dhoni doing that a lot. People are now talking about Rohit Sharma but you got to give credit to Dhoni for that. In the past, players have suffered because of lack of opportunity,” said Ganguly.
Ganguly also singled out the batting trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan as players to watch out for but said they will have to prove on foreign shores to be called greats.
“They have enormous talent. They win you matches. But it will be too early for me to judge them. They will have to perform overseas and it is good that India will be playing several foreign tours.
Asserting that T20 cricket was here to stay, Ganguly hailed the Indian Premier League (IPL) for allowing a livelihood to fringe players.
“I am big fan of T20 cricket and it is here to stay. There are many players who may not get a chance to play for India but are being looked after due to the IPL. I am happy to see many first class players making a fortune out of IPL, it’s a very good thing,” added Ganguly.
Heaping lavish praise on Tendulkar, West Indies cricket great Lara likened the batting legend to another legend, in boxing, Mohammad Ali.
“In terms of statistics, some may come close to him, but in sports there are some individuals who stand apart. When you talk of boxing, you talk of Mohammad Ali; when you mention basketball, you mention Michael Jordan; and when you talk cricket, you talk about Sachin Tendulkar,” Lara said.
Lara also said Tendulkar had made the right decision to retire from international cricket after playing his 200th Test match at his home ground in Mumbai later this week.
“Sachin Tendulkar deserves the respect to decide when he wanted to leave the game. He has given yeoman service to the sport. Imagining that a player with 200 Tests was hard to imagine few years back but I believe he has picked the best opportunity to walk away from the game,” said the former West Indies skipper.
Lara also refused to accept that Tendulkar dragged on his career and his decision to retire has come late.
“His performance in last couple of years may not have been great, but sitting here, we can’t judge the impact he has on the team. We need to speak to the players to know the impact he has on this young Indian team. Let’s not judge him on stats alone. There have been others who played beyond 40,” said Lara often compared with Tendulkar to be the best batsman in the world.
IANS
