Wanted my mother to watch me play final Test: Sachin

Sachin Tendulkar, in his first press conference post his retirement, revealed how he planned a surprise for his mother so that she could watch her son play for the first and final time. Tendulkar's mother, Rajni Tendulkar, had revealed in an interview to a newspaper close to 10 years ago that she could not bear to watch his son bat live because she would be tensed and she has never been at the grounds to watch the 200-Test, 463-ODI veteran strut his stuff. But her son wanted his final Test to be a special one with his mother in attendance. Speaking at the press conference in Mumbai, Sachin said he had asked the BCCI to host the farewell game in Mumbai so that he could get his mother to watch him play. The Test at Mumbai was Tendulkar's 200th and the final game for India. "I had requested BCCI to keep my farewell match in Mumbai so that my mother can see me playing. I wanted it to be a surprise, she came to know from you (the media)," said Tendulkar. The 40-year old, who ended his cricket career with a sublime 74 against the West Indies, also dedicated the Bharat Ratna award that is to be bestowed to him to his mother for all the sacrifices she's had to make. He added that his mother was extremely happy to see him play. "My mother was extremely happy to see me play. Had requested the MCA to keep a room for me at the guesthouse but my mother preferred to sit and watch every ball. When I went to meet her in the president's box, I could see it in her eyes." Speaking about his brother Ajit Tendulkar, who was instrumental in shaping Tendulkar's career, he said his elder brother was relieved and relaxed after the roller-coaster of emotions yesterday. "My brother Ajit and I shared this dream, both of us used to represent India. Ajit seemed relieved and relaxed yesterday. The emotions that I felt yesterday were shared by Ajit as well. I was in tears yesterday and I didn't want anyone to see me like that." Tendulkar added that his family never lost balance when it came to how he performed and that helped him become better. "The beauty about my family is they never lost balance. Whether I got 100 or 15-20, my father - mother had encouraging words for me. Even yesterday, my mother told me I've kept sweets in front of god. That tradition continues and will never stop. My parents reaction to me when I got back from any tour was not related to how I performed." Tendulkar also requested the media not to hound his son Arjun Tendulkar and to let him 'enjoy the game'. He said if he would have had the same sort of pressure Arjun was being subjected to, he would have most likely been working in the field of literature instead. "I would say, leave Arjun alone and let him enjoy the game. If I had that pressure, I would have a pen in my hand and not a cricket bat as my father was in the field of literature. He is madly in love with cricket and that is what matters - I don't want to put pressure on him," Tendulkar summed up.