Kolkata: It’s curtains down for Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian Premier League as the Master Blaster announced his retirement from the cash-rich league after his team Mumbai Indians won their maiden title by beating Chennai Super Kings in the IPL final by 23 runs here on Sunday.
Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from IPL said that he just need to accept the reality. “I am 40 now. I just got to accept the reality that this would be my last season. I am happy that the sending was perfect,” said the Little Master, adding that for World Cup he had to wait for 21 years but for this he had to wait for only six years.
“I can't just wait to touch the trophy and this is the right time to say thank you to everyone. It's never too late to win a trophy," a beaming Tendulkar said when another legend Sunil Gavaskar asked whether he would play opening match of Mumbai Indians at Wankhede next year.
Asked about how it felt playing at 40, he said, "Anil (Kumble) said that 40 is just a number. There were optional practise days but entire team turned up. Things don't come easily but we were prepared to go through the grind."
"I've enjoyed my six seasons with Mumbai Indians. It’s been fantastic journey. This season was superb. We thought our third season was the best but this one is the icing on the cake," the legend stated.
It must be mentioned that Sachin had already announced his announcement from the ODIs in December right before the series against Pakistan.