Sachin 's Sunday

 B L :MUMBAI, NOV 17:  2013

Sachin wakes up on the day after retirement and makes tea for himself

A day after he bid an emotional farewell to International Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar woke up in morning at 6.50 as a per his habit but realised that he has no more international matches to play.

“I go according to my body clock…yesterday (On Saturday) I woke up at 6.50 in the morning and (so when I woke up at 6.50 today) suddenly realised that well…I do not have to quickly have a shower and get ready for the match,” Sachin said to a packed gathering of mediapersons.

“I made myself a cup of tea and enjoyed a nice breakfast with my wife. I spent a relaxed morning,” he added

In his first interaction with the press, after the moving speech at the Wankhede stadium on Saturday, Sachin said that it has not struck him yet that he won’t play cricket. “I will go and play somewhere.”

The past few days have been some kind of celebration in the country as the storied cricketer brought down curtains on his hallowed career after 24 years.

The conference in itself was a sight to behold with each of the 150 odd chairs occupied and another 300 odd journalists and camerapersons crammed the venue for hearing the little master. Sachin was led into the hall by his – “best partner in life” – wife, Anjali. As soon as he took to the podium, cameramen went trigger happy and lightening flashed all around.

Sachin did not make any comments but fielded questions from the press as he seamlessly switched to English, Hindi and Marathi in this well-televised 48-minute conference.

Most questions revolved around his time since retirement and his feelings since then. Sachin said that he did not feel emotional when he first took the call to retire about a month ago.

“When the players gave me that farewell, I became emotional. When I was talking to the wicket, I became emotional,” Sachin said.

In what might perhaps become the folklore among young aspiring cricketers, Sachin walked up to the 22-yard pitch, bent down, touched and thanked it for making him India’s most cherished sports personality.

He said that he has not yet thought about his future plans. “Cricket has been my life. I will stay associated with the sport,” he added.

When journalists tried to probe him further, he said, “I have played for 24 years and it has just been 24 hours since I retired…I should get at least 24 days to decide.”

The little master thanked his big team for their constant support and his coach Ramakant Achrekar for “not letting (success in) cricket to get to his head.”

“Whenever I do well...there are no big celebrations in my home. Like any other middle class Indian family, we offer sweets to the deity,” he revealed.

Sachin dedicated the Bharat Ratna to his mother and to all mother’s in the country who have sacrificed a lot for their children.

He also congratulated the other Bharat Ratna awardee, Professor CNR Rao for his achievements.

As the conference drew to a close there were no wet eyes unlike in the Wankhede on Saturday, but for the exception of one of Indian cricket teams most renowned fans, the pony haired – Sudhir Gautam.

As he took the elevator from the rooftop to the lobby, a couple requested to get clicked with the man who paints himself in tri-colour for India’s matches. Gautam obliged but kept looking down, as tears welled up his eyes.