Melbourne, March 4 : Former Australian captain Ian Chappell says Sachin Tendulkar should now introspect whether he is playing cricket for right reasons.
"When a player of Tendulkar's ability starts blaming other people for his failure to deliver, it's time he looked in the mirror and asked himself: 'Am I playing this game for the right reason?
"There's only one reason to play cricket; to help your team win matches. If a player gives everything and the team loses there is no shame in that, but when individual statistics start to overshadow the team result then clearly there is a problem," Chappell wrote in his column for 'Sunday Telegraph'.
Chappell said that Tendulkar became desperate at not being able to score his 100th international century and that led to his gesture that Lee blocked him during a tri-series match in Sydney.
"What could have been a glorious farewell tour of Australia for Sachin Tendulkar has turned into an ongoing tale of missed opportunities, leading to frustration all round,"
"With each failure to score his coveted 100th international century, Tendulkar has become more desperate to the point where, when he was run out at the SCG, he gestured in Brett Lee's direction as if to say: 'It was his fault I was caught short of my crease'," he said.
Chappell felt that Tendulkar search for his 100th international ton has become a "burden" to the Indian team
"That's been a huge hurdle for India to overcome all summer - Tendulkar's search for his 100th century has become a burden on the team as well as the player," he said.
