Tendulkar announces IPL retirement after Mumbai win

Decision to retire made at the ‘right time’, says batting legend.


Afp May 27, 2013
After playing in all six editions of the IPL, Tendulkar has decided to call it a day and quit the glamorous event for good. PHOTO: FILE

NEW DELHI: Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL), saying it was the ‘right time’ to stop playing the Twenty20 tournament.

“This is my last IPL,” said Tendulkar. “It has been a fantastic season. I think this is the right time to stop playing this format. I am 40. This is the best point to say thank you very much to all the supporters and well-wishers.”

The announcement came after Tendulkar’s team Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings in the final to win their first IPL title.

Kieron Pollard’s brilliant 60 off 32 was the key contribution in Mumbai’s 148 for nine with Dwayne Bravo picking up four wickets in the process. The modest score was ably defended by Mumbai’s bowlers as Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson and Harbhajan Singh took two wickets apiece to restrict Chennai to 125 for nine despite MS Dhoni’s unbeaten 63. Man-of-the-match Pollard said he was satisfied with his responsible playing.

“It was good to play some of your best cricket against the best IPL team,” said Pollard.

Police arrest six bookies

Meanwhile, Indian police said yesterday they have arrested six bookmakers in Goa state who were part of a syndicate betting on the IPL matches.

The tournament has been reeling from a spot-fixing scandal which has led to the arrest of three cricketers and 11 bookies. It was not immediately clear if the Goa arrests were linked to the other case.

“We have arrested six persons in connection with cricket betting activity,” Goa’s deputy inspector general O.P. Mishra told AFP, adding that investigations are still in progress.

A senior officer said the bookies were all from Mumbai but had been in Goa for the last 45 days staying in a rented apartment.

“We are interrogating the persons who were arrested earlier in the day,” said the official. “Whether they are linked to any greater syndicate, underworld or any player in IPL would be known only later.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2013

COMMENTS (13)

Historian 1 | 10 years ago | Reply

@Gulam Rasool "Kuldeep sharma" Have you ever heard the phrase " rich are becoming more rich". This is simply because rich always have easy access to money, black or white!

Milind | 10 years ago | Reply

@KAY - Probably you're not aware of a report few days back, which stated that Sachin himself turned in a few players to the BCCI, after he found them indulging in match-fixing during his stint in 1999. He and Dravid were clean and made sure these unworthies were not included in the team.. Sachin may have his faults, but gambling, match fixing are not amongst them.

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