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New Delhi: Imran Khan has joined the debate on Sachin Tendulkar’s future, saying the batsman should call it quits at the top of his game instead of leaving himself at the “mercy of selectors”.
“Sachin is such a great player but I can only say if I were in his position, I would want to leave on a high and my greatest worry was that I should never be at the mercy of the selectors,” Imran told a television channel.
The future of Sachin, who has spent over two decades in international cricket, is being debated after he was bowled out thrice on the trot during the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand.
Asked if a player of Sachin’s calibre could ever be on selectors’ mercy, Imran said, “No, but why put yourself in such a position. I mean Sachin… What a brilliant record he has! Would he not want to?
“Again I put myself in that position, my greatest worry was that I will not be able to perform to the best of my abilities. So people will not remember me for when I was at the peak but when I was leaving my career.”
Imran said Sachin should decide his own future. “I think Sachin is such a great player and people are emotionally attached. I can understand the Indian people, who have been watching him for 23 years. They can’t imagine life without Sachin.
“But from Sachin’s point of view, knowing that the kind of pride that he takes in his cricket, there must be a time when he should decide that this is the right time to leave,” Imran said.
The former Pakistan captain also reflected on his own career and his decision to retire after the 1992 World Cup.
“The reason I retired was because I did not want to be at the mercy of the selectors. I wanted to go out at my peak. The only reason I kept playing was for the cancer hospital,” he said.
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