Best time to retire? Sachin on 99, Laxman's 281, Dravid at 31,258

This isn’t the storybook ending we wanted. No, it isn’t even close. Rather it’s a pretty sad moment; a moment when we want our heroes to hang up their boots and say goodbye. It’s an emotional time because they mean so much to us. We know the numbers, their records, their mannerisms. Sometimes we can even guess their responses to particular questions. Simply put, they are like family with whom we are on a first-name basis. Which is why as VVS Laxman walked back after being dismissed by Nathan Lyon in the second innings of the Adelaide Test, there was no sense of vindication (I have been saying he should walk away), just sadness and a question: Will we see Sachin, VVS and Rahul play Test cricket for India together again? Throwing in the towel is never easy. But fact is that as elite athletes’ age, their skillsets slowly begin to deteriorate. A fact that was clearly noticeable from the way Ricky Ponting batted during the series – he scored over 500 runs at an average of over 100 but was he the ‘Punter’ of old? [caption id=“attachment_196563” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Sachin’s strength has always been his modesty, but to see him play ODIs again – when he told the team after the World Cup win that he was done with the format - is unbecoming. Reuters”]  [/caption] He was very good, no doubt, and he did the job for the team. Period. The innings didn’t have the charm or hustle of old. Perhaps they never will. Ending a good thing is never easy, but it is often the best choice when you are clearly on your way down. Now, that’s the difficult bit. At various times in their careers, the Indian trio has been down and out but they’ve fought back and not just survived – they’ve made contributions that mattered. But now greatness has been replaced by doubt; by talk of demons in the mind. It’s sad. So how would we react if Sachin Tendulkar were to retire after 99 international tons? We’d be sad… yes, but at the same time, we’d be happy as well. He still is and will forever remain one of the greatest batsmen in the world.  But moving on will perhaps be a fitting reminder to everyone that the 100th ton is no more than a number. 99 or 100… does it make that much of a difference? Let him not obsess over it; he’s bigger than that and that’s the message his retirement on 99 will send. Sachin’s strength has always been his modesty, but to see him play ODIs again – when he told the team after the World Cup win that he was done with the format - is unbecoming. And if Dravid decides to join him after playing 31,258 balls in Test cricket, he’ll still remain the gentleman cricketer – thoughtful, intense, dignified. The speech at the Bradman Oration showed us why we loved Dravid so much. It wasn’t just flowery… it made points that needed to be made. There were hard words as well – not just for the BCCI but for cricket at large. His guts and grit will always remain with us as will his perspective. Technically, he remains capable of sorting out his game again, but as the Australia tour went on, ‘The Wall’ developed a door, a window and just kept getting clean bowled over and over again. A dignified exit, at this juncture, would be most apt. Laxman has never been feted as much as the other two but he is the man who taught us to believe that nothing is impossible. The 281 in Kolkata didn’t just make the Hyderabadi a household name, it also changed the way Indians thought about the game. Would Ganguly’s captaincy stint have been as successful without that knock? The great Australian teams over the last decade learned to respect him, but now he seems to be slowly fading into the evening light. There was a time when we would have believed that Laxman could walk on water if he willed it, but now the magic seems lost. For a long time, Sachin epitomised greatness, Rahul was grace and Laxman’s wrists were elegance. If they go now, that’s how we’ll continue to remember them. Ego drives them all, but now it’s time to put it to rest. Admitting their time is up may be the hardest thing they’ve ever done, but when they decide they’ll get another standing ovation – they deserve it. The BCCI will probably give them the option to say their farewells but I’d rather not have them wait. They should do it their way, of their own free will, as they always have… but the timing will be key — without that gift they’ll just be ordinary cricketers.