IPL teams should be able to retain eight players - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai Indians captain, has said the IPL franchises should be allowed to hold on to a certain number of players from their existing squads as the league prepares for a reshuffle at the end of the 2010 season, when existing player contracts expire. Next year the IPL will have two new franchises - Pune and Kochi - and a fresh auction but Tendulkar wanted teams to be able to retain at least eight players.

"About retaining players, my personal thoughts are that we should be allowed to retain four India players and four foreign players," Tendulkar told the Indian news channel Times Now. "As for domestic players, it should be up to the franchisees. I feel it's a tough call because all teams have made huge efforts in building a good side.

"It's not an overnight result. For three years everyone has been working on what's the best combination. Even a player's identity is important. We have to look into these things and then have some changes. I hope there are not too many changes."

For a player who opted not to represent India in Twenty20 internationals in 2007, Tendulkar has appeared to have mastered the art of batting in the shortest format, as his statisticsthis IPL indicate. His batting has been a sensation this season but his captaincy has also drawn plaudits. Tendulkar captained India twice unsuccessfully, but he said he did not have a point to prove to critics as Mumbai prepared to contest their first IPL final.

"It's a big stage but it's not about proving a point to someone that I can manage captaincy. I have never played for that," he said. "The runs I have scored in all forms of the game, I was not trying to prove something to someone. I have just played because I enjoyed playing and loved playing and the passion for cricket is there. I have just done that and while doing that all this has happened."