Sachin Tendulkar set to play his farewell Test at Wankhede Stadium
India's iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will bow out from the game, which he embellished for close to a quarter of a century, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai by playing his landmark 200th Test match against the West Indies next month.
It was at this very venue that he made his debut in first class cricket. (Read: Sachin's coach Ramakant Achrekar wants to watch his 200th Test in the stadium)
"Tendulkar had expressed the wish yesterday that he wanted to play his 200th match at his home ground and the BCCI (Cricket Board) today acceded to his request and has decided that the Test will be held at the Wankhede Stadium from November 14-18," said Mumbai Cricket Association's President Ravi Savant on Friday.
Savant did not want to go into the details of how MCA persuaded BCCI to allot the game to its home venue, amidst reports that the Cricket Club of India, BCCI's second affiliated unit in the city, also wanted to host the match. "I don't want to go into the details. Suffice it to say that the match would be held at the Wankhede Stadium," Savant told reporters.
Savant met BCCI chief N Srinivasan, who was at the Board's headquarters today, before making the announcement ahead of the Programmes and Fixtures committee meeting on October 15 to chalk out the detailed schedule of the West Indies tour.
The Caribbean outfit is set to play two Tests, from November 6-10 and November 14-18, as well as three ODIs, on November 21, 24 and 27, during its short tour.
The venue for the first Test and the three subsequent ODIs would be decided by the committee headed by Rajiv Shukla on Tuesday.
The BCCI is also planning a grand farewell for Tendulkar, it is learned.
The Board had squeezed in the home series against the West Indies to give Tendulkar an opportunity to retire in front of his home fans.
Tendulkar on Thursday announced his decision to retire from Test cricket after playing his landmark match, bringing an end to the intense speculation about his future.
© PTI
