NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – While many of his contemporaries have retired, Sachin Tendulkar has no intention of applying the brakes on his record-breaking career and instead wants to score 15,000 test runs and win the 2011 World Cup.
“I’ve given it (retirement) no thought at all,” the 36-year-old, who has scored the most runs and hundreds in tests and one-dayers, told the September edition of The Wisden Cricketer magazine.
“I’m good at cricket, so I will play a while longer. I still love the game as much as ever, it is my job but it remains my passion too,” added the batsman
Tendulkar, who has aggregated a record 12,773 test runs with 42 hundreds, has seen players such as West Indian Brian Lara and team mates Anil Kumble and Saurav Ganguly hang up their bats but the Mumbai player wants to make sure he can fulfil one of his childhood hero’s wishes.
Tendulkar said compatriot Sunil Gavaskar, who was the first to surpass the 10,000-mark in tests, has set him a target.
“I’m not pleased yet with what I have done,” said Tendulkar. “Sunil Gavaskar has told me that I have to get to 15,000 runs.
He said he would be angry with me, would come and catch me if I didn’t.
“I admire him so much and to score that many would be a terrific achievement but that is not the only aim.
“What else? “Winning the (one-day) World Cup in 2011.”
HUGE MONEY
He did not agree with concerns that test cricket was on a decline due to the rising popularity of Twenty20, such as the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).
“There is no way test cricket is dying,” he said. “Twenty20 cricket is the dessert and you can’t survive on that. Who wants to eat only desserts?
However, he cautioned upcoming players to focus on the game.
“Maybe in 10 years, or even now people will pick up cricket bats thinking only about the huge money in Twenty20 cricket,” he said.
“Money should just be coincidental. The passion and the desire are the most important things,” he said. “I worry about runs, not contracts.”
Tendulkar rejected suggestion from former Australia coach John Buchanan that he was losing confidence against short-pitched bowling. “Maybe he needs to change his opinion,” he said.
“There must be something very wrong with all the bowlers around the world that they have allowed me to score so many runs.”