honestly i dont get why people say that about cricketers who are apparently past their prime... Its his passion, his job, he loves doing it, hes still good enough to do it well, so why in the world should he retire? People said the same thing about ponting too, and because he scored for fun in this one series, and tendulkar didnt, the focus has shifted to him. He'll retire when he wants to, not when the fans tell him to. if the selectors feel he should be dropped, then they should do it. "fans" dont get to decide a cricketers career path
think about it this way... You've been working in a company for 25 years,you still love your job, you still do it damn well, probably not quite as well as you did when you were at your peak mentally/physically... Would you like it if random people who dont even work at your company start saying that you're "tarnishing" your legacy by continuing?
Legacies donot get tarnished by continuing to do what you love, rather theyre enhanced.
Sounded preachy i know, but just my thoughts