Sachin Tendulkar retired from international cricket in 2013 (November 16) after helping the Indian team in registering an innings victory against West Indies, in the final Test match of the two-match Test series. The last Test match of the series was played in Mumbai.
While recalling an emotional moment from his retirement, Tendulkar revealed that he had to return a gift given to him by Virat Kohli.
Tendulkar speaks
"So I was sitting in one corner alone, with towel on my head. (I was) wiping tears and I was really emotional. At that time, Virat had come to me and Virat gave me the sacred thread that his father had given him," Tendulkar recalled while talking to an American journalist's YouTube channel.
But after keeping the gift for a while, Tendulkar decided to return it as he felt that it was “priceless” and “it has to stay” with Kohli.
“Kept that for a while and then returned that to him again. I said this is priceless and this has to stay with you and no one else. This is your property and you should have it till your last breath and I gave it back to him. So it was an emotional moment, something that will always be there in my memory,” the 48-year-old former India batter explained.
Kohli's response
The former India skipper Virat Kohli, on the other hand, also explained why he gave that particular gift to Tendulkar. According to Kohli he could not gift Sachin Tendulkar “anything more valuable.”
"We usually wear threads around our wrists. In India, a lot of people do. So my father gave one to me, which he used to have. So I used to keep that with me in my bag. And then I thought this is the most valuable thing I have. So, my father gave this to me and I couldn't give you anything more valuable and I just want you to know how much you have inspired me and what you mean to all of us and this is my little gift to you," Kohli said.
In his final Test match of his career, Tendulkar had scored 74 runs in the first innings against West Indies.
