Tendulkar is different from others: BCCI chief

The master blaster scored 81 in the first Test in Chennai but failed big in the remaining innings in India’s historic 4-0 clean sweep against Australia in the 4-match series. Here, he is seen during the final day of the Ferroz Shah Kotla Test in New Delhi on Sunday. Photo: R.V. Moorthy

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president N Srinivasan on Monday refused to be drawn into a debate on whether it was time for Sachin Tendulkar to call it quits from Test cricket, saying he is the “greatest batsman India has produced” and it won’t be fair to the batsman to discuss about his retirement.

Asked whether the BCCI was giving special treatment to Tendulkar when compared to the likes of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, both of whom are presently out of the team due to non-performance, Srinivasan said, “I don’t think any one us can talk about Sachin (Tendulkar)”.

“Sachin is probably the greatest cricketer India has ever produced. I don’t think it is wise to sit and analyse his performance series wise,” Srinivasan told

NDTV .

Srinivasan’s personal opinion was that Tendulkar has no comparison as he belongs to an altogether different league.

“Sachin is different from others. This is my personal view and I distinguish between selection matters and personal view,” the BCCI chief said.

Srinivasan also refused to react to a column by renowned historian and cricket writer, Ramachandra Guha where he said that Tendulkar should have retired on a high, like Vijay Merchant, who quit international cricket after scoring a flawless century against England in 1951.

“It’s not fair to be quizzed about Sachin because I am not a selector. I don’t think we should be discussing this.

It’s not fair on Sachin to be discussed at all,” the BCCI president said.

Tendulkar scored a solid 81 in the first Test in Chennai but failed to score any other big knock in India’s historic 4-0 clean sweep against Australia in the four-match series.