Sachin Tendulkar announced his intention to retire from international cricket following his 200th Test against the West Indies.
Since making his international debut in 1989 as a fresh-faced 16-year-old, the ‘Little Master’ went on to become the all-time leading run-scorer in Tests and one-day internationals.
The only player to register 100 international centuries, Tendulkar hit a record 15,921 Test runs during his career, at an average of 53.78.
In a short statement on the Board of Control for Cricket in India website, Tendulkar wrote: “All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India.
“I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years. It’s hard for me to imagine a life without playing cricket because it’s all I have ever done since I was 11 years old.
“It’s been a huge honour to have represented my country and played all over the world. I look forward to playing my 200th Test Match on home soil, as I call it a day.”
Tendulkar made his international debut against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989 and made the first of his Test centuries in his ninth match against England at Old Trafford the following year.
Tendulkar would narrowly fail to reach 16,000 Test runs, his career finally coming to a close in November 2013 when he was caught by Darren Sammy on 74 at his home ground in Mumbai.
