Sachin Tendulkar should leave on a high: Imran Khan

During the just concluded Test series against New Zealand, Sachin Tendulkar got bowled thrice in a row, thus creating a stir of sorts, with experts talking about his footwork and if age was catching up with the Master Blaster.

Of course Sachin chooses to do all the talking with his bat. But he has some advice for him from across the border, from none other than the legendary Imran Khan.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Mr Khan advised the master batsman to leave cricket on a high. "Sachin is such a great player but I can only say if I were in his position, I would want to leave on a high and my greatest worry was that I should never be at the mercy of the selectors."

When asked if somebody like Sachin could ever be at the mercy of the selectors, Mr Khan said: "No, but why put yourself in such a position. I mean Sachin, what a brilliant record he has. Would he not want to? Again I put myself in that position, my greatest worry was that I would not be able to perform best to my abilities. So people will not remember me for when I was at the peak but when I was leaving my career."

"I think Sachin is such a great player and people are emotionally attached. I can understand the Indian public, who has been watching him for 23 years. They can't imagine life without Sachin. But from Sachin's point of view, knowing that the kind of pride that he takes in his cricket. There must be a time when he should decide that this is the right time to leave," Mr Khan added.

Talking about his own retirement, Mr Khan said: "The reason I retired was because I did not want to be at the mercy of the selectors. I wanted to go out at my peak. The only reason I kept playing was for the cancer hospital. The board of governance told me that if you get out of cricket you won't be able to collect money. That's the only reason for which I kept playing. Having seen those heights, i just did not want to be at the mercy of selectors or people saying it's the time you should leave. That's why I respect Sunil Gavaskar. He left, he could have gone on. Sunil had one of the best defensive techniques I have seen in a batsman. Given that technique, he could have gone on but he left at the peak."