Tendulkar retired from international cricket on November 16, 2013. His farewell Test against the West Indies was at Wankhede in Mumbai. After the match, Virat Kohli, who was in the team at the time, gave Tendulkar a special gift. But he did not accept it and returned it. Tendulkar has spoken openly about this. Tendulkar shared that emotional memory in an interview with American journalist Graham Ben Singer’s YouTube channel.
‘I was back in the dressing room after playing the last Test of my career at Wankhede Stadium. The thought that I would never go down to bat in an Indian shirt made me very sad. I was alone in a corner wiping away tears and was really emotional at the time. That’s when Virat Kohli came to me. He also gave me a string as a gift from his late father Prem Kohli, ”says Tendulkar.
‘I took it and put it in my hand for a while and then gave it back to Virat. After that said- this is invaluable. It should be with you, not with anyone else. This is what you are entitled to. You should keep this until your last breath. It was a very emotional moment. It will always be in my memory, “said Tendulkar.
Virat Kohli had spoken about the incident two years ago. ‘We, the people of India, usually wear a string around our wrists. Many people in the country are doing so. He once gave me a string that my father used. But I do not know what to do with it. Although it was invaluable, out of respect and admiration for Tendulkar, I was ready to give him the strings. I did not even have to think twice about it. I told him it was my little gift and I gave it to him. “Because I knew who Tendulkar was for us and how much he inspired us all,” Kohli said.
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