Tendulkar’s 200th Test will be in Mumbai: BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to grant cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar his wish to play his 200th and farewell Test in his home town Mumbai.

Kolkata and Mumbai were the frontrunners to host Tendulkar’s farewell Test but the legendary batsman in a letter to the BCCI has expressed his desire to play the 200th Test in Mumbai.

“The match will be held in Mumbai as desired by Tendulkar. We will decide the venue on Tuesday when we meet to finalise the venues of the series,” BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla, who is also president of the BCCI’s tours and fixtures committee, told IANS.

Shukla also said that BCCI was planning a grand farewell for Tendulkar.

The second match of the two-Test series against the West Indies will be Tendulkar’s 200th and last. The series was fixed in a hurry to make sure that Tenmdulkar plays his last Test in India.

The first Test will be played Nov 6-10 and the second Nov 14-18. The West Indies will also play three ODIs slated for Nov 21, Nov 24 and Nov 27.

All the venues will be decided Tuesday when the BCCI’s tours and fixtures committee meets in Mumbai.

The contest is now between Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Wankhede Stadium and Cricket Club of India’s (CCI) Brabourne Stadium to host Tendulkar’s 200th match.

Asked if the BCCI was deliberately postponing the announcement of the venues keeping in mind the MCA elections slated for Oct 18, Shukla said: “That is a wrong perception in the media. Why should we? If Mr. Sharad Pawar wins the MCA elections we will be happy. He is part of the BCCI family.”

Interestingly the BCCI’s tours and fixtures committee will meet two days after the deadline ends for withdrawing nominations in the MCA elections.

Former BCCI president Pawar, who is union agriculture minister, in his bid to comeback to the BCCI and take on BCCI chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan in next year’s elections is fighting for the post of president in the MCA. Pawar is also likely to win unanimously.

Pawar, also a former ICC president, has been a vocal critic of BCCI president Srinivasan’s handling of the spot-fixing and betting scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Pawar had also claimed that such scandals wouldn’t have taken place had he been the BCCI chief. Pawar has also demanded an investigation by the home ministry in all the 75 matches of the IPL’s sixth edition held earlier this year.