A wrist injury might have kept Sachin Tendulkar out of the on-field action for most part of his swan-song IPL but the senior batsman had a huge role in taking Mumbai Indians to their maiden title triumph, skipper Rohit Sharma said.
Tendulkar announced his retirement minutes after Mumbai were crowned champions for the first time and Sharma said the IPL Trophy meant a lot to him.
"It's good to see a big smile on his face. It really shows how much this trophy means to him," Sharma said at the post-match presser.
"We actually didn't get much time to talk about it as we were running all around in celebration immediately after the last ball. He also has been very busy with the celebration."
Sharma said they had an idea what was coming after Tendulkar had the left-wrist injury but his involvement in the dressing room made up for his absence on the field.
"It was disappointing. We knew when he missed a game, we had an idea about it that he would not be fit to play. We had an idea about it.
"But his presence in the dressing room was a huge boost. It gives a confidence to lot of young players. Whenever he was needed, he was there. I am really happy what we did today."
"It was unfortunate he missed last few games because of injury. But you can't really do much when you're injured. But he was completely involved keeping a close eye along with Anil Kumble, Ricky Ponting and John Wright. He spoke to each individual if he felt there was a need."
The Mumbai Indians opener retired hurt for 38 in their May 13 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad which became the iconic batsman's last innings as he went on to miss five matches for his franchise.
Asked whether Tendulkar would play the Champions League T20, Sharma sounded noncommittal.
"It's probably four months now. I really don't know what's going to happen them.
