At 2.30 pm, Sachin Tendulkar called board; They asked, 'Are you sure?'

AT 2.30 pm Thursday, Sachin Tendulkar called up the Indian cricket board secretary Sanjay Patel, as protocol and propriety demanded, and told him about his intention to retire from cricket after his 200th Test - the one against the West Indies next month.

"Are you sure?" a stumped Patel was left repeating more than a couple of times as Tendulkar issued him precise but polite instructions on what needed to be done.

"He told me that he wanted to announce his retirement. He'd already spoken to the board president and wanted BCCI to issue a media statement and letter which he would mail, to be forwarded to the media," Patel told The Indian Express.