New Delhi: Ricky Ponting’s retirement has fuelled Sachin Tendulkar retirement debate, but Indian opener thinks otherwise and feels that the maestro’s retirement has nothing to do with it.

“Ponting retiring doesn’t mean that Sachin also has to quit now. It’s an individual decision. They are from two different countries, two different individuals. So there is no question of a comparison. No one can force anyone to retire and a player knows when it is the best time to retire,” Gambhir said.

Sachin’s poor run has made everyone contemplate about Sachin’s future, but southpaw said that he still belongs to international cricket and go on to score lot of runs.

“Everyone goes through ups and down and I am sure he will come out of it. His presence in the dressing room itself is a big boost for the team. It’s the sheer joy of playing the game, he loves playing. He is the greatest cricketer India has produced. Not just on the field, as a mentor he contributes off the field too. He still has the capability to make lots of runs for India,” added here.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni might be under-fire for being too vocal about playing on rank-turners, but Gambhir supported his skipper.

“A captain should get the kind of wicket he wants. There is nothing wrong in it. We all should support him instead of making it an issue. If he thinks he can win on a particular sort of wicket we should support him. After all he is your captain and he will only think about victory. All the former captains would ask for turners. I think during Mohammad Azharuddin’s time we used to play on turning tracks, nobody had raised a question then,” said the Delhi batsman at an event here.

“What amazes me is that we never appreciate the opposition. We should also praise the opposition rather than criticise our own players.The opposition does play good cricket. They are not here to just make up the numbers. The series is tied 1-1, we haven’t lost it yet and we can still come back. Any country can bounce back today,” added Gambhir.

Gambhir who was at a city school as the face of the Hindustan Times’ ‘You Read, They Learn’ campaign played cricket with the kids.

“Kids have to go to school for overall development, discipline. My biggest motivation is to contribute something for my country, like educating the kids so that they can take their own decisions,” said Gambhir.

By Indian Sports News Network