JOIN USFor more than two decades, Sachin Tendulkar has drawn crowds to the stands. Age may have blunted his skills but not following. Feroz Shah Kotla during the fourth and the final Test was no different. The possibility of the master playing his last at home saw the crowds making way to the stadium early morning; his dismissals triggering unabated rumours of his farewell.
India are not likely to play a home series before mid 2014 unless the BCCI manages a home series after the Champions League. In such a case, Tendulkar, a month shy from his 40th birthday, and already retired from the ODIs, will be unlikely to be around.
The presence of his brother Ajit Tendulkar on day one of the fourth Test got the rumour mill churning; the whispers growing louder before turning into pitched verbal battles. Away from these calculations, the common man still yearns for a long Tendulkar innings. His knock of 81 in Chennai raised hopes of a century but he could not convert his starts thereafter, ending the series with an average of 32.
Many expected him to deliver here at the Kotla. The television cameras showing him practicing spin at the nets raised hopes. An adulating crowd gave standing ovation when he walked in to bat in the first innings here but Nathan Lyon cut short his stay.
A swelled crowd on Sunday cried for Virat Kohli’s dismissal just to see Tendulkar bat. Their attitude riled fellow Delhi player Ishant Sharma, which a grinning Mahendra Singh Dhoni revealed later at the presentation ceremony. But Lyon once again stopped Tendulakar’s progress as many looked at a dejected Tendulkar, chewing his lips, taking a walk back to the pavillion. They shared his sentiment before once again giving him a standing ovation.
Dhoni, at his post-match press conference, would only ask to “not speculate”.
“Either I will tell you yes or no. You (media) had asked me the same question in 2005 also,” he said when asked whether Tendulkar played his last here.
Till then, guesswork shall continue.