Kirk Edwards revealed that it was difficult for him and Chris Gayle to hold back the emotions when Sachin Tendulkar delivered the farewell speech in 2013.
West Indies all-rounder Kirk Edwards has revealed that he and Gayle were struggling to fight back tears during Sachin Tendulkar's farewell speech in his last Test in 2013. Tendulkar retired from the game after the two-match series against West Indies. Incidentally, his last match was also the 200th Test in his career - to date, he remains the only player to achieve the feat.
"For the 200th Test match, I was there. It was very emotional for me as well," Edwards told CrickTracker in a video chat on Instagram.
"I had my shades on. I was next to Gayle as well. Both of us were sniffing (tearing up). We tried to not let water fall out of our eyes. It was a very touching moment. Knowing that you're never gonna see this guy in the park again playing cricket."
India registered a 2-0 series victory, winning the final match by an innings and 126 runs in Tendulkar's home ground, Wankhede Stadium. The Indian batsman scored 74 in the only innings of the Test, while Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma scored centuries.
On his arrival to the crease to play the last innings of his career, the West Indies team and the umpires gave him the guard of honour. When the match ended, the Indian team also gave the guard of honour to Tendulkar as he left the ground. (ALSO READ: Sehwag, Harbhajan take part in International Yoga Day celebrations)
Edwards revealed that Tendulkar also messaged him when he was going through a struggling phase in his career to boost his confidence.
"When I was having a harder time in England, I remember, in Edgbaston, he had sent me a text message. He gave me great confidence to understand that even the best go through tough times like these. It's no problem, just keep working," he said.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game, Tendulkar holds the records for most runs in Tests and ODIs, as well as most number of centuries in both the formats.
