Indian Sachin Tendulkar, the world’s most prolific international run-scorer in cricket, will retire after playing his 200th test match at home against West Indies next month.
“All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years,” the 40-year-old, who compiled a record 100 international centuries, said in a statement released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday.
“It’s hard for me to imagine a life without playing cricket because it’s all I have ever done since I was 11 years old.
“It’s been a huge honour to have represented my country and played all over the world. I look forward to playing my 200th test match on home soil, as I call it a day.”
Tendulkar, who made his debut against bitter rivals Pakistan in 1989 as a 16-year-old, went on to accumulate 15,837 runs in 198 tests and 18,246 runs in 463 one-day internationals.
He played just one Twenty20 match for India against South Africa in December 2006, before retiring from the shortest format of international cricket.