Tendulkar retirement claim denied

Thursday, 6 September 2007

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has dismissed reports that Sachin Tendulkar is contemplating retirement from one-day internationals.

Newspaper reports in India claimed he had discussed the idea with friends in order to prolong his Test career.

But Ratnakar Shetty, the board's chief administrative officer said: "I spoke to Tendulkar and he told me it is not true. There is no substance to it."

Tendulkar is only six matches short of 400 one-day appearances for India.

And he is the game's record scorer in limited overs internationals with 15,395 runs, including 37 centuries and 45 fifties.

The 34-year-old has been in excellent form in the current series in England, scoring 344 runs in six games so far at an average of 57.33.

But he has suffered a number of injuries in the past two or three years and has opted to miss the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 tournament, which starts in South Africa next week.

Tendulkar has been playing international cricket since he burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old batting prodigy in 1989.

And he has a tough winter ahead with a home series against Pakistan to be followed by a tour to Australia.

Earlier this week, he told the Times newspaper: "I enjoy every moment I have on a cricket field, but the recovery times between games these days are difficult, especially for one-day internationals, and that's my major obstacle.

"It does take its toll on the body. When you are 22 or 23, you recover a lot more quickly. But at 34, it's not so easy."

But he added: "My body will tell me when I have played enough cricket, but I don't feel old just yet. I still think I'm a young boy at heart."