Quick Edit: Impossible to replace the irreplaceable

For 24 years Tendulkar carried the hopes and aspirations of one billion people on his shoulders. He was born to be a cricketer and the first glimpses of his superlative talent came to the fore during his world record partnership with Vinod Kambli in school cricket more than a quarter century ago. He made his Test debut as a 16-year-old and eventually became 8216;Mr Indian Cricket8217;. His departure will leave a void that can never be filled,because it8217;s impossible to replace the irreplaceable.

Indian cricket,however,is privileged to have so many exciting young talents ready for a Test berth. Rohit Sharma appears to be a shoo-in for the middle-order slot that will be left vacant by Tendulkar. But then,it would be extremely difficult to think about an Indian dressing room without the little master. The captain will miss his inputs,the youngsters will miss his guidance.

Numbers become incidental after a certain point. Another 163 runs will take Tendulkar8217;s tally to 16,000 runs in 200 Tests. But this man has never been about just the numbers. He8217;s always been an inspiration.

Thanks for everything he8217;s done for Indian cricket.