Sachin Tendulkar was a relaxed man as he trained in the nets on Wednesday, the eve of his 200th and final Test, at the Wankhede stadium.

The batting icon will retire from cricket after the second and final Test against the West Indies, which begins in Mumbai on Thursday.

- Farewell Sachin... write a postcard to the batting icon

He entered the Wankhede stadium at around 10 am and was felicitated by the groundstaff, who presented a bouquet before he posed for photographs with the group.

Board of Control for Cricket in India president N Srinivasan also came to the Indian nets and had a long discussion with Tendulkar after giving him a hug.

- Farewell Sachin... write a postcard to the batting icon

After his batting session, Tendulkar had a lengthy discussion with youngsters Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami.

- Farewell Sachin... write a postcard to the batting icon

Tendulkar batted in the nets for 30 minutes before he practiced in the side nets, asking young net bowlers to bowl for nearly an hour at him.

- Farewell Sachin... write a postcard to the batting icon

Tendulkar later joined the Indian team and played a game of football.

- Farewell Sachin... write a postcard to the batting icon

Stating that Tendulkar's retirement would leave a big void in the dressing room, spin legend Bishen Singh Bedi said players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have learnt a lot from the champion batsman.

- Farewell Sachin... write a postcard to the batting icon

While speculation is rife about what the Master Blaster will do once he ends his 24-year career, there are a few suggestions in the offing as well.

“One thing is for sure, he will always remain involved with cricket,” said Niranjan Shah.

“In fact, with his great knowledge about the game I can very well imagine him as a cricket administrator, working with the BCCI,” he added.

- Farewell Sachin... write a postcard to the batting icon

Tendulkar also obliged the media by posing for photographs with reporters and photographers before heading back to the dressing room after nearly two hours in the sun.

- Farewell Sachin... write a postcard to the batting icon

The ground-staff at the Wankhede, some of whom saw a 15-year-old Tendulkar make his Ranji debut at this very ground 25 years back, came up and spoke with him.

- Farewell Sachin... write a postcard to the batting icon