Expect businesses in India to "grind to a halt for five days starting on Wednesday," according to Norman Da Costa of the TORONTO SUN. Some services around the world "will also be disrupted as millions of Indians will have their eyes focussed on Mumbai where Sachin Tendulkar will be playing in his 200th and final Test." Even U.S. President Barack Obama has noticed Tendulkar's "mesmeric hold on fans around the world including the United States, where the only cricket an American is familiar with is an insect." Obama: “I don’t know about cricket, but still I watch cricket to see Sachin play. Not because I love his play ... it’s because I want to know the reason why my country’s production goes down by 5% when he’s batting’’ (TORONTO SUN, 11/11). The PTI reported two-time Olympic Medalist wrestler Sushil Kumar on Tuesday "joined the bandwagon of sportspersons" who wanted Tendulkar to become India's sports minister, saying that "it would be beneficial to sports in the country." Kumar said, "He should become the sports minister, only then sports will benefit. He treats all the athletes equally." Tennis player Sania Mirza said that "the choice should be entirely left to Tendulkar on what he wants to pursue after retirement." Mirza: "If Sachin decides to do that, whether it is politics or just administration for grassroots sports. Because, cricket already has that push, but other sports need that. He has inspired people for many years and is the best at what he does. People automatically would listen (to him)" (PTI, 11/12).
