‘He’ll come in & deliver the knockout punch’: Sachin Tendulkar names Indian pacer who ‘is quicker than you think’

Tendulkar also spoke about Ishant Sharma and said that the 101-Test veteran knows England conditions better than anyone else in the team. However, the former cricketer doesn’t wish to call on the playing XI.

Former India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has opined that Jasprit Bumrah will play the key role for India in the World Test Championship against New Zealand, which begins from Friday in Southampton. The Master Blaster believes that the right-arm quick can be ‘tricky to face’ at the start of the innings.

File photo of Sachin Tendulkar (Road Safety World Series / Twitter)

While speaking to news agency ANI, Tendulkar said Bumrah has a slightly awkward action and that makes the job of the batsman that much more difficult.

“I was told that when a bowler is bowling well, stand at the non-striker's end (laughs). Jokes apart, Bumrah is a world-class bowler, his action is slightly awkward, I have played him in the nets and his action is awkward. He is quicker than you think. He hits the bat hard so one can say because his action is odd, you get less time to react,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying.

“I would suggest any batter that before you play any big shot, make sure you have gotten your eye in because that is what his strength is, before a batter gets his eye in, he will come in and deliver the knockout punch. So be ready for that, the first crucial moments are extremely critical. If you survive, understand and get used to his bowling action, then things can change gradually,” he added.

Tendulkar also spoke about Ishant Sharma and said that the 101-Test veteran knows England conditions better than anyone else in the team. However, the former cricketer doesn’t wish to call on the playing XI.

“Otherwise also, one has to have that mixture of senior players and junior players as that blend works. I am not suggesting anyone's name here, but I think the balance works in batting or bowling. Then you have seniors to guide you because Ishant has been around for a long time. He understands the conditions in England better than anyone else.

“Ishant would play a critical role, but I would leave it to the management because they understand which bowler is bowling well in the nets they also had an intra-squad game and batters would have given their feedback too to the coach and captain on whether the ball is hitting the bat hard enough to show the bowler is in a good rhythm. That is something we need to understand and then pick the final XI,” he explained.