Sachin Tendulkar hints at playing till 45, says his other passion is cars

July 28, 2012

tendulkar

Mumbai: Ask Sachin Tendulkar about life after cricket, and you're unlikely to get too far. He indicates he will keep playing till he nears 45.

When asked about his options after cricket, pat comes the 39-year-old's reply. "It'll be difficult to answer what I'll do 5-6 years from now."

Quite clearly, for the man who has scored more runs than anybody else in international cricket, retirement is the ugliest word in the language (as the late writer Ernest Hemmingway famously said).

"Whenever I think of going away from it, that is when I can afford to divert my attention to other things. Till that moment, my focus will be on cricket," the man who is arguably the world's best-ever batsman told ET in an exclusive chat hours after unveiling the new BMW 3 series on Friday.

The time for 'other things' may be some time away, but that isn't stopping him from indulging in his other passion--cars. His eyes light up-in much the same way they would when smacking a Shane Warne googly out of the park-when he talks about a recent test drive of the new BMW 3 series in England as part of a promotional exercise.

"To experience these cars on the race track is an awesome experience," says Sachin, who also recollects the days when he would go carting with his friends all night, till 5 in the morning.

It wasn't always this way for Sachin, who fell in love with cars at the age of 6 when he would gaze out of the balcony at the wheels passing by.

In the times when "my pockets were not that deep", Sachin's first car was a Maruti 800, followed by the now extinct Maruti 1000. Then, as the runs began to come, at age 21, he slipped behind the wheel of a second-hand BMW 320i.

Although there has been a Ferrari in between, today it's been beamers all the way, not just for the master blaster but the entire family.

Sports management, motor sports, cricket administration - Sachin insists he hasn't begun thinking about all these alternatives for life after he hangs up his cricket gloves.

The association with BMW is as far as he will go away from the sport that he eats, drinks and sleeps. And he even draws a parallel between cricket and cars. "I can drive on as well as off the field," he chuckles.


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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Hamilton, Jan 28: No one sits on the seat that Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his own in the team bus, revealed India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, saying that the talismanic former skipper is missed by the side.

In a video shot inside the team bus while it was on its way to Hamilton for the third T20 International against New Zealand, Chahal is seen talking to several members of the squad including Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

Towards the end of the video, he moved to the rear of the bus and pointed to an empty seat which, he said, was the former captain's preferred spot before he went on a sabbatical last year.

"Yeh woh seat hai jahan ek legend baithate the. Mahi bhai. Abhi bhi yaha koi nahi baithata. Hum unhe bohot miss karte hai (This is the seat that used to be occupied a legend. MS Dhoni. No one sits here now. We miss him a lot)," Chahal said in the video posted on 'bcci.tv'.

The-38-year-old Dhoni has not played a competitive game since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand on July 9. Earlier this month, Dhoni was dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on his future.

However, on the same day, Dhoni returned to training, batting fluently in the Jharkhand team nets.

Head coach Ravi Shastri has hinted that the celebrated wicketkeeper-batsman might retire from ODIs soon but will be in contention for a T20 World Cup berth provided he does well for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

The Indian team lead the five-match T20 series against New Zealand 2-0.

Virat Kohli's men will take on the hosts in the third T20 here on Wednesday.

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News Network
May 30,2020

St John's, May 30: The Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Saturday announced a temporary 50 per cent reduction in salaries and cricket funding across the entire regional cricket system, effective from the start of July due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which resulted in the suspension of all the cricketing activities across the globe since March.

"This decision has been necessary in the face of debilitating economic challenges which have resulted from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no international cricket currently being played anywhere in the world, and with great uncertainty of when regular cricket activity will resume, CWI - like many other international sporting organisations worldwide - is facing a significant loss of income, whilst also being uncertain of the long-term impact of the crisis on our operations," the CWI said in a statement.

During Thursday's teleconference, CWI's Board of Directors received recommendations from the Financial Strategy Advisory Committee (FSAC). The FSAC was formed in April by CWI president Ricky Skerritt, to make recommendations on how CWI could best manage its resources in order to continue its core business over the next few months in view of the changing and uncertain economic environment created by the global pandemic COVID-19. These recommended measures followed close consultation with all stakeholders.

"Cricket is the beating heart of our region for many individuals, communities, and economies. This pandemic is hurting every West Indian and this decision to cut staff and player incomes has been a very difficult one to make; one that will impact so many members of the cricketing family around the Caribbean," Skerritt said.

"This business continuity plan, unfortunately, requires all stakeholders to make a huge sacrifice, but I am confident that it won't be long before CWI will be in a position to ensure that the sport we love can restart and be enjoyed once again by the thousands of cricket fans across the region and diaspora," he added.

CWI has kept staff, players, umpires and coaches on full-pay since the outbreak of COVID-19 and have tried our best to avoid any cuts for as long as possible. CWI hopes that these temporary measures will only be in place for not more than three to six months. These measures will also include a 50 per cent reduction in funding for Territorial Boards, Territorial Board Franchises and WIPA, as well as a 50 per cent cut in all retainers and allowances for Directors and Executive management.

Earlier in the day, CWI gave its approval for a 'bio-secure' Test tour to England.

West Indies were first slated to play three Tests against England in June, but the original starting date of the series was pushed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is looking to go ahead with the series against West Indies in July and then the Three Lions will play three Tests against Pakistan.

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