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Former India captain Kapil Dev said Sachin Tendulkar should have retired after the 2011 World Cup and also demanded the removal of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the skipper of Team India.
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Kapil said Sachin should retire immediately.
"From what we have seen in the last 3 months, he (Sachin) should have announced his retirement after the World Cup or even earlier. It's important to know that every cricketer has his time. Having served India for 22-23 years, there surely is no greater cricketer than him. But he should have announced his decision to retire from the shorter format soon after the World Cup," Kapil was quoted as saying by Headlines Today.
Kapil, one of world cricket's greatest all-rounders, said age seems to be catching up with Sachin who managed only 68 runs in four innings in the ongoing tri-series.
"May be his time has come. Every player has his time. He is 39-40 years now. Age is not on his side as it was earlier," said Kapil.
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Kapil said there are few players "who just cannot leave the game" and perhaps need to be told that their time is up.
"Perhaps, Sachin loves cricket more than himself. Azhar feels like playing even now. Sourav wants to play. It's important what the Board or selectors feel about the issue," he added.
Asked whether the batting legend had come under additional pressure for his elusive 100th century, Kapil said: "Sachin has played under immense pressure all through his career and scored centuries in spite of extreme expectations. He has delivered in such situations in the past."
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan had also said that Sachin should have retired after the World Cup. Sachin had taken a break from the shorter version of the game after the 2011 World Cup and has not been able to wield magic with his bat as before after returning to the squad.
While praising the contribution of Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman to Indian cricket, Kapil also said the two batting stalwarts should quit to open up opportunities for the GenNext.
"I think Dravid and Laxman have played their last Test. They could be given one last Test for a respectable exit, but certainly not at the cost of compromising the team's interests.
"There is no denying that the likes of Rahul, Sachin and Laxman have served the nation like few other cricketers. But they are no longer young, and if Indian cricket does not move forward from the Big Three, it will risk falling a generation back and struggle like West Indies and Australian teams have done in the past," he said.
Kapil said some of Dhoni's decisions as Indian captain smacked of favouritism.
"If you are an Indian captain, you cannot be partial," Kapil said leaving it to the selectors to take action.
Citing some specific instances, Kapil said: "I was surprised when Rudra Pratap Singh was drafted into the Test side in England ... One must find out why all rounder Jadeja was not used as a bowler even for a single over in the ODI against Australia at Brisbane.
"Dhoni is a mature player. I am perturbed when he picks a player as an allrounder and doesn't make him bowl at all. If anyone makes such mistakes, he can't survive for long. If Dhoni makes such mistakes repeatedly, he will have to pay the price."
Justifying much of the criticism heaped on Dhoni for the recent string of failures, Kapil said the ball is in selectors' court to take a call.
However, Kapil batted for Dhoni's comment dubbing senior players as slow fielders after the drubbing at Brisbane.
"With too many seniors, it's no denying the fact that there will be a drop in fielding standards for they are no longer young. I don't think individual players are bigger than the Indian team. Had they performed, these issues would not have cropped up," he said.
