Sachin Tendulkar to take up new role with Mumbai Indians

Sachin Tendulkar

Legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar will be taking up a new role with the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians after being officially named as the ICON of the Mukesh Ambani-owned team for the 7th edition of the league.

Tendulkar, who retired from all forms of international cricket on November 16, 2013, after playing his 200th Test, against West Indies at Mumbai, has represented the Mumbai Indians in the first 6 years.

A tweet from the official account of the Indian Premier League confirmed the news:

News Alert: @sachin_rt named @mipaltan icon #PepsiIPL #MI

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2014

“We are very happy to have Sachin as the Mumbai Indians ICON. I am sure the youngsters in the team will be delighted to have him around for guidance, and so would be the Mumbai Indians fans,” team owner Nita Ambani said in a statement.

“Sachin has been an integral part of Mumbai Indians and a source of inspiration for the team ever since the inception. It was a fitting finale to Sachin last season, when we dedicated the IPL as well as CLT20 trophies as tribute to the legend,” Ambani added.

On his new role, Tendulkar said: “I have been a part of the Mumbai Indians team since its inception and am delighted to continue my association. This season with Mumbai Indians will be a different experience for me and I look forward to closely interacting with the experienced support staff and sharing my learnings with the exciting youngsters in the team,” said Tendulkar.

Tendulkar, who has played only a solitary T20 international, against South Africa way back in 2006, opted out of representing India in the shortest format citing that it could be a breeding ground for youngsters. The leading run-scorer in the other two formats of cricket, though, proved his ability in the T20s by scoring 2334 runs in 78 IPL matches, which places him at the 5th spot in the all-time highest run-scorers list in IPL.