Sachin Tendulkar retires from ODIs

"I have decided to retire from One Day
cricket. I feel blessed to have been a part
of the World Cup winning Indian team,"
writes Tendulkar said. (TOI Photo)
NEW DELHI: One of the game's all-
time greats, Sachin Tendulkar, on
Sunday announced his retirement
from one-day cricket, bringing to an
end a glorious 23-year-old career in
the format during which he rewrote
numerous batting records.
"I have decided to retire from the
One-Day format of the game. I feel
blessed to have fulfilled the dream of
being part of a World Cup wining
Indian team. The preparatory
process to defend the World Cup in
2015 should begin early and in right
earnest," the 39-year-old said in a
statement released by the BCCI
today.
"I would like to wish the team all the
very best for the future. I am
eternally grateful to all my well
wishers for their unconditional
support and love over the years," he
added.
Tendulkar, considered the most
complete batsman in modern cricket
and one who was considered next
only to the legendary Sir Donald
Bradman, retires from the ODI
format at the top of the run-getters'
list.
Tendulkar goes out after amassing
18,426 runs in 463 one-dayers at an
average of 44.83. The diminutive
right-hander has an astonishing 49
hundreds in the format, including a
double hundred -- the first in this
form of the game.
Tendulkar made his ODI debut
against Pakistan way back in 1989
and interestingly he is quitting the
scene just ahead of another series
against the arch-rivals.
The Mumbaikar, who made himself
unavailable for Twenty20 after
playing just one game in 2006, will
now remain active in only the Test
arena.
The brightest moment of his ODI
career came last year when he finally
became part of a World Cup winning
Indian team after five previous
appearances.
Speculation over Tendulkar's future
had grown after his continuing
failures in the past one year.
His last ODI hundred came in the
Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March this
year -- a feat that completed an
unprecedented 100 international
tons.
He was stuck on 99 tons for quite a
while after scoring two hundreds
during India's successful World Cup
campaign. Tendulkar also has an
mammoth tally of 96 ODI 50s to his
credit.
Despite the recent slump in his form,
Tendulkar's overall tally of runs is
unlikely to be matched anytime soon
given that the distant second-best in
the list, former Australian captain
Ricky Ponting, has already retired
from the game with 13,704 runs
under his belt.
Sri Lanka's retired great Sanath
Jayasuriya occupies the third spot in
the overall chart with 13,430 runs.
Besides his batting, Tendulkar was an
effective partnership-breaking
bowler and finishes his ODI career
with 154 wickets, including two five-
wicket hauls.
Tendulkar's Test records are as awe-
inspiring. The right-hander has
15,645 runs at an average of 54.32 in
194 Tests that he has played so far.
The tally includes 51 hundreds and
66 half-centuries.