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Hope Sachin enjoys his last two games, irrespective of whether he scores or not: Dravid

Having played a lot of cricket alongside Sachin Tendulkar, former India captain Rahul Dravid is hoping the batting icon enjoys his last two Test matches and bows out on a high.

- Tendulkar 200!

Asked to pick his best Tendulkar innings, Dravid said that would be near-impossible, since there were many great innings in his career, which has spanned over 24 years and includes 198 Test matches and 463 One-Day Internationals.

Instead, he spoke on what Tendulkar means to Indian cricket and why he was not surprised about his decision to retire from the game.

"I played a lot of cricket with Sachin. I have seen him since childhood. He has been with the Indian team for a long time and is a great cricketer, not only in India but abroad, for what he has accomplished, his statistics; his performance is difficult to replicate. 

'He is one player who has never let his standard come down'

He is one player who has never let his standard come down. His love for cricket has been consistent from the age of 16 to even now, at 40. I would like that he does well in his last two Tests and signs off with a good performance. His family is also coming down, so both these two Tests will be a big event. Hope he enjoys both the matches. He has worked hard for so many years, so he deserves a good farewell. Everybody is asking me to pick one good innings of Sachin, but when somebody scores 100 centuries it is difficult to pick just one innings. You can't pick one innings out of 150 and I won't want to do that because I want to remember his full career.

I am hoping to do some media work around the Test matches, so I am hoping to be there [in Kolkata and Mumbai].

'It is just reality of sport and life; it is that kind of age'

When you are 40 and have played as much as he has, then it [Tendulkar's retirement] doesn't come as surprise to anyone. It is just reality of sport and life; it is that kind of age.

I think, people have been talking about him for a while and I am sure he has been thinking about it for a while, and whether it happens now or three months later or six months later, it is going to happen. So things are never a surprise if you touch these kinds of ages.

'I just want to say Sachin thank you for all that he has done for Indian cricket'

Sachin has been such a fantastic player. It is incredible when you realise that he has done so much. Everything is known about him. Probably, he is the most written about cricketer of this generation, and probably ever! I just hope he really enjoys his last two games, irrespective of whether he scores or not, because that is irrelevant. I hope he has a lot of fun; those two matches will be two great occasions.

I just want to wish him all the best and say thank you for all that he has done for Indian cricket for the last 24 years."