Sachin Tendulkar told me Virat Kohli could break his record: BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla
Shukla also recalled how Tendulkar's decision to retire in 2013.
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Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Rajeev Shukla has shared an unheard conversation he once had with legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Shukla recalled how Tendulkar's decision to retire in 2013 and also predicted that a young Virat Kohli could one day surpass his iconic batting records.
Shukla reflected on his close association with two of India’s greatest batters, Tendulkar and Kohli. As an administrator, he witnessed Tendulkar’s final phase up close and was among those who tried to convince the ‘batting stalwart to continue for at least another year to complete 25 years in international cricket. However, Sachin believed retirement should come the moment a player feels he can no longer give 100 per cent to the game.
Recalling their conversation, Shukla said he urged Tendulkar to delay his retirement and look for the 25-year milestone. However, the cricketer told Shukla that the day his body stopped responding fully, it would be time to walk away. Soon after, Tendulkar personally informed Shukla that he would announce his retirement.
"God of Cricket (on Sachin Tendulkar). What he has done as a cricketer is very difficult. There are no comparisons. And if he wanted, he could have played for another year or two. I told him to at least complete 25 years and play for another year. He said, 'No. Raju bhai, I feel that I should leave now. He was very honest. 'The day I feel that I cannot give 100 per cent to the game, I will give it up. I will walk away.' That is what he did. He felt that his body could not give 100 per cent. So he left," Shukla said.
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Notably, Tendulkar eventually bowed out during the home Test series against West Indies in November 2013, playing his final match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. The BCCI vice-president also shared a lunch-table conversation with Tendulkar and asked whether anyone could ever break his records, with the veteran naming Kohli as the player capable of doing so.
"One day, I went to his house for lunch, and I asked him, I said, you have so many records, do you think anyone can break them? Then he told me, look, records are made to break. So, my record was broken. So I said, 'What do you think? Who can break your record?' So, he said, I think Virat Kohli can break my records," he added.
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