Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday announced his retirement from the cash-rich Indian Premier League soon after Mumbai Indians won their maiden title, defeating Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs in the final.
“I think this is the right time to stop playing IPL. I am 40. I have to face the reality. I had decided that this would be my last season. And now the ending is perfect,” Tendulkar said after Mumbai beat Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs at the Eden Gardens last night to lift their maiden IPL trophy.
Tendulkar, who played 78 IPL matches accumulating 2334 runs at an average of 34.83, had to stay out of the final after failing to recover from a left hand injury that he picked up a fortnight ago in a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The veteran, who scored one century and 13 half—centuries during his overall IPL stint, played just 14 matches this season making 287 runs at an average of 22.07 with 54 being his highest. He, however, did not specify whether he would play for Mumbai in the Champions League Twenty20 which is scheduled for October.
“For World Cup, I had to wait for 21 years but for this I had to wait for only six years. Also this is special for me as I won’t be playing in IPL next season,” he said at the end of Mumbai Indians’ triumph.
“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 the opening match of Mumbai Indians at Wankhede next year.
