Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar is set for another debut in his carer as he will be commentating during the World Cup 2019 opening match between England and South Africa. He will have his own segment during the show named ‘Sachin Opens Again’.
It will be the first time that Tendulkar will be donning the mic during a match. It is not yet clear whether he will continue to perform the commentary duties during the whole tournament or is it just one of the occasions.
Whatever is the case, the presence of Tendulkar on the expert panel will add to the energy of the other commentators. The batting legend has done mic work in past – during India vs Pakistan match in Champions Trophy 2017 – but it was just a segment with Virender Sehwag during the break.
Tendulkar, since his retirement, has made just a few appearances on talk shows but this time, it is expected that he will have a longer stint on television.
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The Master Blast retired from the game in November 2013 after playing his farewell match at Wankhede Stadium – his home ground – against West Indies. While he had planned his Test retirement, his move to quit ODIs came out of the blue.
It was in December 2012 that Tendulkar retired from the white-ball cricket. He played in IPL and Champions League in 2013 before announcing his retirement from the longest format of the game as well.
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He scored 15921 runs in Test cricket at 53.78, that includes 51 centuries. In ODIs, Tendulkar scored 18426 runs at an average of 44.83. He became the first batsman in the history of international cricket to score 100 international centuries in the year 2012. The record is yet to be broken.
Tendulkar also played one T20I but decided not to play the shortest format of the game after playing team India’s inaugural T20I.
He is presently the icon of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians and was seen on a regular basis with the team this year. Mumbai Indians went on to win the IPL trophy for the record fourth time, defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final.