NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – While many of his  contemporaries have retired, Sachin Tendulkar has no intention  of applying the brakes on his record-breaking career and instead  wants to score 15,000 test runs and win the 2011 World Cup.

“I’ve given it (retirement) no thought at all,” the  36-year-old, who has scored the most runs and hundreds in tests  and one-dayers, told the September edition of The Wisden  Cricketer magazine.

“I’m good at cricket, so I will play a while longer. I still love the game as much as ever, it is my job but it remains my passion too,” added the batsman

Tendulkar, who has aggregated a record 12,773 test runs with  42 hundreds, has seen players such as West Indian Brian Lara and  team mates Anil Kumble and Saurav Ganguly hang up their bats but  the Mumbai player wants to make sure he can fulfil one of his  childhood hero’s wishes.

Tendulkar said compatriot Sunil Gavaskar, who was the first to surpass the 10,000-mark in tests, has set him a target.

“I’m not pleased yet with what I have done,” said Tendulkar. “Sunil Gavaskar has told me that I have to get to 15,000 runs.

He said he would be angry with me, would come and catch me if I didn’t.

“I admire him so much and to score that many would be a terrific achievement but that is not the only aim.

“What else? “Winning the (one-day) World Cup in 2011.”


HUGE MONEY

He did not agree with concerns that test cricket was on a decline due to the rising popularity of Twenty20, such as the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).

“There is no way test cricket is dying,” he said. “Twenty20 cricket is the dessert and you can’t survive on that. Who wants to eat only desserts?

However, he cautioned upcoming players to focus on the game.

“Maybe in 10 years, or even now people will pick up cricket bats thinking only about the huge money in Twenty20 cricket,” he said.

“Money should just be coincidental. The passion and the desire are the most important things,” he said. “I worry about runs, not contracts.”

Tendulkar rejected suggestion from former Australia coach John Buchanan that he was losing confidence against  short-pitched bowling. “Maybe he needs to change his opinion,” he said.

“There must  be something very wrong with all the bowlers around the world  that they have allowed me to score so many runs.”

MORE IN Sports


Reader Comments »

The Comments section is intended to provide a forum for reasoned and reasonable debate on the newspaper's content and is an extension of the newspaper and what it has become well known for over its history: accuracy, balance and fairness.
  • We reserve the right to edit/delete comments which contain attacks on other users, slander, coarse language and profanity, and gratuitous and incendiary references to race and ethnicity.
  • We moderate ALL comments, so your comment will not be published until it has been reviewed by a moderator.
  • Our Comments are powered by the Disqus service. You may comment as a Guest by entering your comment and selecting "Post as". Optionally, you may sign-in using your Facebook, Yahoo or Twitter Accounts.

    Disqus' Privacy Policy can be read here. Please read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.