Tendulkar announces IPL retirement

Tuesday, 28 May 2013 01:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Moments after Mumbai Indians won their first IPL title, Sachin Tendulkar announced he had played his last IPL. He didn’t say if he will play the Champions League T20. The last ball Tendulkar played in the IPL didn’t come in the victory in the final, but a fortnight ago in a league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

That ball was sent over long-on for a six, but in the process Tendulkar also injured himself. He retired-hurt after that, and didn’t recover in time to play another Mumbai game.

“This is my last IPL,” Tendulkar announced casually in a TV interview after the win. “This has been a fantastic season. I thought our third IPL season was the best before this. I think this is the right time to stop playing the IPL. I am 40, got to accept it. I had decided this was my last season.”

In 78 IPL matches, Tendulkar scored 2,334 runs at an average of 34.83 and a strike rate of 119.81. He scored one century and 13 half-centuries. When asked if he was tempted to play the first match of the next season as a defending champion in front of his home crowd in Mumbai, Tendulkar said he was happy with his decision. “This is the best point to say ‘thank you very much’ to all the supporters and well-wishers,” he said.

Tendulkar had announced his ODI retirement towards the end of the last year. With the IPL retirement, the Champions League remains the only cricket he might play other than first-class. The India players’ next first-class assignment is the Ranji Trophy at the end of the year, before the national team goes to South Africa for a full tour.