Sachin Tendulkar should retire - An Indian fan's appeal

Some called him the Lord, others said they were atheists before he came; but has his time finally come? Sachin Tendulkar‘s retirement has been a talking point and Ricky Ponting‘s retirement served as adding fuel to the fire.

Since November 2010, Tendulkar’s batting average has been 37.77 in the last 37 innings, with just two centuries in his bag; meanwhile Ravichandran Ashwin‘s batting average (debut in November 2011) is 37.91. Hence, on comparative terms, he has been at par with Ashwin in terms in batting. His bad form has been there for some time now.

Another thought in my mind is that if the an under-performing Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman or Virender Sehwag could be dropped, why not a miserably failing Sachin Tendulkar?

The selectors decided to drop Ganguly when his average in the previous 48 innings was 45.76. It was a similar tale with the others mentioned, who also faced the axe even after having better averages in the previous matches as compared to Tendulkar.

Along those lines, another name comes to mind – Murali Kartik. The man who scalped six wickets in the last game (against  Australia ) he played for India. Six wickets against the world’s best team couldn’t keep him in the side but a consistently under-performing Tendulkar can keep his place without any worries.

Sachin Tendulkar has been an obstacle for the entry of other players who would contribute more to the team. There are many talented youngsters in the domestic circuit who have not been able to even catch the selectors’ attention because of Tendulkar’s persistence to play on.

He is already 39 and has nothing to offer in the future. We have had enough of watching a failing Sachin Tendulkar. Why not depart with pride instead of undoing all the good he has done? I am a Team India supporter and Team India does not need Tendulkar anymore – no matter how much he has done for it in the past.