Sachin’s absence may hurt ticket sales

Wankhede Stadium regulars will find something major amiss in Sunday's one-day game. For the first time since he began his international career in 1989, they will miss the familiar figure of Sachin Tendulkar in India colours at the venue. Sanjjeev Karan Samyal reports.

Wankhede Stadium regulars will find something major amiss in Sunday's one-day game. For the first time since he began his international career in 1989, they will miss the familiar figure of Sachin Tendulkar in India colours at the venue.

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Tendulkar, who is recovering from a toe injury, has been out of action a few times in his career due to injuries but has never missed a one-dayer involving India at Wankhede. Starting with the game against West Indies in 1994, the World Cup final was his 11th straight ODI at Wankhede. His absence has hurt the coffers as well.

The Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Nitin Dalal accepted that, as has been the case for the earlier games in the series, ticket sales are slow for this match too.

"Tendulkar is the biggest crowd puller. Now we may get ticket sales up to 80-85%. If he would have been there, it would be a guaranteed houseful."

On the other hand, local boy Ajinkya Rahane will make his homeground debut as an India player. The expectations are naturally high as he is following in the master's footsteps, occupying the same role as opener.

Rahane's coach Praveen Amre said, "The best thing Rahane can learn from Tendulkar is to stay in the present. Tendulkar never thinks about the last game; he is always focused on performing his role on the day. It's natural that Rahane will be a bit nervous. He has to stick to his natural game, which is aggressive, and rest will fall into place."