Sachin Tendulkar is a symbol of batting excellence. Over three decades, he has provided countless moments of brilliance, cherished by millions of Indians.

His illustrious career is illuminated by records, some of which may never be broken. The Master Blaster made a comeback to the cricket field on Wednesday in a match of the Indian Street Premier League. This is a T10 tournament featuring celebrity team owners, including personalities like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Amitabh Bachchan.

In an entertaining match featuring players like Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa, Akshay Kumar, and others, champion batsman Munawar Faruqui dismissed Tendulkar for 30 runs in a thrilling encounter during Bigg Boss 17. Commentators remarked, “The stadium is completely silent.”

The great Sachin Tendulkar stated on Tuesday that playing in the Ranji Trophy provides a fundamental platform for national players to revert to basics and elevates the standard of domestic tournaments as well. BCCI recently made it mandatory for centrally contracted players to participate in domestic red-ball cricket when not on national duty or in the Indian Premier League (IPL). BCCI excluded Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from its central contract list as they missed their respective state team’s Ranji Trophy matches. “When Indian players compete for their domestic teams, it not only enhances the quality of the game for youngsters but also occasionally leads to the discovery of new talent.”

Tendulkar posted on social media, “It sometimes provides national athletes with the opportunity to rediscover fundamental aspects.”

“Throughout my entire career, whenever I got the chance, I remained passionate about playing for Mumbai. Growing up, in our dressing room, there were about 7-8 Indian players, and playing with them was enjoyable,” said Tendulkar.

Despite citing personal reasons and opting out of the South Africa tour in December at the age of 25, Kishan remained absent from national duty during the entire Ranji Trophy campaign for Jharkhand. Instead, he focused on preparations for the IPL with his franchise Mumbai Indians.

After being dropped from the Indian team following the second Test against England, Ayer did not make himself available for the Mumbai Ranji quarterfinals. However, he played in the Ranji semifinal against Tamil Nadu.

Tendulkar believes that the participation of star Indian players in domestic tournaments will generate more interest in homegrown competitions.

“Over time, the participation of top-level players in domestic tournaments will lead fans to begin supporting and following their local teams more. It’s fantastic to see @BCCI giving equal priority to domestic cricket.”