27 March,2013 06:52 PM IST | | Agencies
Former Indian captain Kapil Dev has urged batting great Sachin Tendulkar, whom he believes is well past his best, to take retirement from international cricket.
The cricket legend also believes that the master blaster can be a great ambassador for cricket post retirement.
The important stage of Sachin's career is over," Gulf News quoted the retired legend as saying. "He is now at the end of his career and one should appreciate that he's not going to play the way he used to. Even if he scored three consecutive centuries my thoughts won't change about him. One has to know that age is not just a number. It doesn't matter how much passion you have, you cannot stay so long as to block the progress of others. This is not just about Sachin, but life in general," Kapil Dev added.
Kapil Dev (left) feels it's time for Sachin Tendulkar to move on from the game. File Pic/AFP
The 54-year-old added that the Little Master could be a great ambassador of the game like other retired legends like Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.u00a0
The former all-rounder further added that in order to get the best out of one's retirement a person had to give back to the game. He asserted that it's time for Sachin to move on. u00a0
"Sachin can be a great ambassador of the game like Sourav (Ganguly), (Anil) Kumble and (Rahul) Dravid. In order to get the best out of your retirement you can give back after it as well. So I say that Sachin must move on and beautiful things will happen to him. I wish him luck, comfort and happiness because he has given so much to us that it is unbelievable and unparalleled. But he must move on," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Dev observed that while the word 'retirement' was a painful phrase and even he used to feel it when people referred to him as ''retired Kapil Dev'' at the age of 35.
