![Sachin Tendulkar giving farewell speech [Source: ALLROUNDR.com]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1763268430510_Tendulkar_Speech.jpg?type=hq)
Sachin Tendulkar giving farewell speech [Source: ALLROUNDR.com]
The air at Wankhede Stadium hung thick as the crowd were cheering, but not for the cause they wanted. On November 16, 2013, not a soul was ready to say goodbye to the man who had been cricket's heartbeat for twenty-four years.
As Sachin Tendulkar stood at the crease one last time, not with his bat but with a trembling piece of paper, 24 years of a nation's collective memory came flooding back.
"My life between 22 yards in the 24 years, it's hard to believe that it's coming to an end," he began, his voice thick with emotion, and in that moment, a billion hearts broke and swelled simultaneously in a packed Wankhede.
Tendulkar's heart-wrenching speech at Wankhede
The numbers that defined an era were staggering. 34,357 international runs, 100 centuries, 200 Test matches, a career spanning generations. Yet, as he spoke he spoke of the people who helped create them and not about the records.
Tendulkar remembered his father, whose words from 1985 became his life's compass. "Chase your dreams and don't find shortcuts." He recalled his mother's prayers, his aunt feeding a half-asleep boy after long practice sessions, and his sister who gave him his first Kashmir Willow bat and still fasted when he batted.
Then came the tribute to his architect, brother Ajit. "We have lived this dream together," Tendulkar confessed, revealing how even the night before this farewell, they had dissected his final dismissal. "If I had not done that, I would have been a lesser cricketer."
Tendulkar remembered coach Ramakant Achrekar, who never said "well played" to keep him hungry, and friends who woke at 3 AM during injuries to convince him his career wasn't over. He thanked the BCCI for believing in a 16-year-old boy and preserving his passion through injuries.
Tendulkar tributes the 'Sachin, Sachin...' chant
As the speech neared its end, the man who carried a nation's expectations for 24 years finally let the weight show. His voice trembled as he delivered the words that would become immortal.
"I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and also say that time has flown by rather quickly but the memories that you have left with me will always be with me forever and ever. Especially 'Sachin, Sachin,' that will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing. Thank You very much if I missed out on saying something, I hope you understand... Goodbye," an emotional Tendulkar said.
As he ended his speech, the stadium roared with a full heart bursting out with the chant of 'Sachin, Sachin' to pay the legend a last and deserving farewell.
Though it has been 12 years since he left the field, the 22 yards would remain his temple with the echoes of a billion chants that would indeed reverberate until his last breath, and forever in the heart of cricket itself.
