Ian Chappell advises Tendulkar to quit

MUMBAI: In the aftermath of his declining form in recent years, Sachin Tendulkar was on Friday advised by former Australian cricket captain Ian Chappell to retire.

Chappell said Tendulkar had been a shadow of his former self in the last three or four years and has looked like a player trying to 'eke out a career'.

In a column in the Mumbai-based Mid-day tabloid, Chappell said now that India was knocked out of the World Cup, one of the major decision would be about Tendulkar's fate and he suggested the the batting icon to hang up his boots.

"At the moment he looks like a player trying to eke out a career, build on a glittering array of statistics. If he really is playing for that reason and not to help win as many matches as he can for India then he is wasting his time and should retire immediately," Chappell wrote.

Before anybody else determined his future, Tendulkar himself should decide what he was trying to achieve, he said.

Chappell drew a comparison with Brian Lara, who is almost four-year senior to the Indian, and felt both were 'worlds apart' in effectiveness.

"Lara's quick-footed tip toe through a terrific innings against a good Australian bowling attack when the rest of the West Indies top order succumbed easily was in direct contrast to Tendulkars stumbling effort in the crucial Sri Lanka match," Chappell said.