Shame on all Indian cricket lovers. What a shabby, pathetic way to say goodbye to the king. One day before we play Pakistan in a historic ‘open the gates’ series we dump our biggest asset without pomp, ceremony or grace. This man, Sachin Tendulkar, broke every record, climbed every mountain, forged every river, gave us years of mind-numbing excitement.

And we discard him like a used tissue.

Hey, Sandeep Patil, were you jealous that you could not even aspire to the base camp of this hero’s summit that you and the whole damn legion of selectors decided to shove a morale-destroying newsbreak on the Indian team with 48 hours to go for the series to start?

It is not rocket science to go figure that this dismal lot pushed him to the decision by telling him he wasn’t going to be in the one-day team.

It was an ultimatum that could decide the series.

What they should have done is had him on the field today with an honour guard of Indians and Pakistanis saluting him as he said goodbye. No one would have shown reluctance. No one. Not even one Pakistani player.

A billion Indians would have stood up back in their homes, and the applause would have resonated around the world. Not this graceless, horrible way to say goodbye without saying goodbye.

Who are these selectors that they are so arrogant, so special, so mean-spirited that they would not even have the courtesy of creating a standing ovation for Sachin?

You know what, the hell with you Mr Patil. You were a second-rate player and you are green with envy.

As for all of us, disgraceful that we have allowed Sachin to go unsung, that he has had to seek the sanctuary of Mussoorie to get away from what is a rabble without any redeeming feature.

Can we never do anything with style? And why is it that these selectors and this BCCI travesty which, being a private enterprise, does not technically represent the Indian team except by default, be allowed to get away with their arrogance and conceit?

What is even worse is that we have accepted it; now let’s go watch the match. Get off your overweight backside, Mr Patil, and make amends.

If only we could boycott today’s match till all the selectors who leech off the talent of cricketers and fatcat their way to wealth apologise for their conduct. I say this confident that Sachin would never have quit at this juncture and hurt the Indian morale if it wasn’t for the fact that they put a gun to his head and made it untenable for him to stay on.

Whatever. They will get away with it. In our country they always do.

Thanks a ton, Sachin, for years of pleasure; we are, in our own small ways your honour guard. Salute.