Mirpur, Mar 17: A phenomenal century of hundreds under his belt but iconic Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is in no mood to consider retirement as he feels going out on top is a “selfish thought”.
Tendulkar struck his 100th international century in an Asia Cup match against Bangladesh yesterday, ending a year-long wait to get to the milestone which might remain unsurpassed.
But the 38-year-old is not even thinking about bidding adieu to his over two-decade long career just yet.
“My belief is that if I feel I can contribute, I am mentally there where I feel I am bringing value to the team then I should be playing. It's a very selfish thought that when you are at the top you should retire,” Tendulkar told ‘Times Now'.
“When you are at the top, you should serve the nation. When I feel I am not in a frame of mind to contribute to nation, that's when I should retire not when somebody says.
That's a selfish statement that one should retire on top,” he explained.
The diminnutive right-hander, who sits on a pile of records and runs, said it was tough to deal with the hype around the 100th ton and the fact that the wait lingered on made it harder.
“(There is) more of a relief because my 99th hundred was against South Africa (druing the World Cup) and after that media didn't speak about my 100th hundred while the World Cup was on,” he recalled.
“I missed the West Indies tour and somehow there is speculation that I wanted to score the 100 in England at Lord's but a hundred doesn't come as and when you want”, he said.
