Sachin Tendulkar tells Shubman Gill and others how to tackle England pacers minus Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Before the first India vs England Test in Headingley, Tendulkar shared his thoughts on how Gill, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant should bat in English conditions.
A year before a 16-year-old baby-faced Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut for India in Pakistan, he first got the taste of an international trip when he travelled to England in 1988 as part of a young Indian team for the Star Cricket Club team that also featured the likes of Sourav Ganguly. It was the beginning of Tendulkar's long association with England. He scored his maiden Test century at Old Trafford in Manchester in August 1990, becoming the second youngest at the age of 17 years and 107 days to hit a Test hundred. He would go on to register seven Test centuries against England in 32 matches, scoring 2535 runs at an average of 51.73. In between, he became the first non-English cricketer to play for Yorkshire, breaking a century-old tradition.
12 years after his retirement, the BCCI and the ECB decided to immortalise Tendulkar's association with England by naming the India vs England series after him and legendary England pacer James Anderson. The renaming of the Pataudi Trophy to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy had its fair share of deliberations but the boards have finally decided to go ahead with it.
"In every way, I feel humbled that the trophy was named after Jimmy Anderson, who has been one of the greatest players to play for England and me. But again I repeat, I’d never show disrespect to my seniors and that’s why I did what I did and spoke to the Pataudi family to make sure that the Pataudi name also continues to be a part of this series," Tendulkar told RevSports.
India will be without Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin - all three retired this year. This was after the selectors had decided to look beyond veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. New captain Shubman Gill, who does not have an overseas record to be proud of, will be the flagbearer of leading this inexperienced Indian batting lineup in tough English conditions, where the weather tends to play more tricks than the pitch itself.
How Shubman Gill and others should bat in England
On the eve of the first Test in Headingley, Tendulkar shared his thoughts on how Gill, KL Rahu, and Rishabh Pant should bat in English conditions.
"In England, you always keep three things in mind when you play. First, the overhead conditions. Second, the air quality and third, the pitch condition. Each one of these factors influences how you should play. There will be phases of play when you will find it very difficult to play shots. So you need to be careful and identify such phases. It is not a defensive act to leave balls. Rather, it is also a show of intent to be able to correctly leave balls and play for the right time. And then when the sun is out it is a beautiful track to bat on where the batters can score a lot of runs. That’s when you cash in and be positive and aggressive," Tendulkar added.
Leeds is currently experiencing a dry spell. The temperatures are higher than usual, which means the chances of the batters scoring more on a relatively drier surface are higher.
"It is hot in Leeds at the moment and I am sure the groundstaff will make the pitch accordingly. They will keep grass and batting up front will be challenging. In England it is always the case. But then that’s where you need to stay positive in the mind and be patient. Accept the challenge and stay out there. You need to know your time will come and conditions will ease. And that’s what Test cricket is all about. There will always be challenges in Test cricket and good teams and good players need to deal with these challenges and overcome them," Tendulkar said.
When the legendary cricketer was asked about a piece of advice he would give to the young Indian batting line-up led by Shubman Gill, Tendulkar said to be positive. "So my advice is stay positive and deal with the challenge. And when I say stay positive being defensive at times is also staying positive. Identify the areas where you can score runs. And play to the situation and the condition. That’s how you succeed in England."
