Kolkata sports stores give Tendulkar's 199th Test a miss

Even as the hype and hoopla surrounding Sachin Tendulkar continues to surge for his penultimate Test match beginning Wednesday at the Eden Gardens here, the wave seems to have missed the sports goods stores. Some say they have not stocked up on Sachin-based merchandise as it has had little demand.

The cricketing legend will be playing his 199th Test at the iconic Eden Gardens Nov 6-10 and the farewell Test match, his 200th, at the Wankhede in Mumbai Nov 14-18.

Though there was a huge demand for Indian Premier League-related goods earlier this year, the same is not being replicated when Tendulkar goes out to bat for his 199th Test in the India-West Indies Test series.

"No, we are not selling any special merchandise as there was no such demand," Rajesh Sethi of Sethi Sports and Games told IANS.

Moreover, with the holiday season still on, many stores had little time to organise such deals.

"There was plenty of time for IPL and it spread over months so there was a hike in sales. But with Sachin's penultimate match we did not have much time to order stocks. It is a huge event but without ample time we can't do much," S. Brahmachari of Eden Sports told IANS.

For others like Uberoi Sports and Planet Sports, not much emphasis is being laid on the Test.

Tendulkar announced early this month that the two-Test series against the West Indies will bring the curtain down on his illustrious 24-year-long career.