'Way he's able to use his variations has really impressed me': Tendulkar effusive in praise for 'strike spinner' Ashwin

Sachin admitted that Ashwin's tremendous use of variations has left him mighty impressed, one which he also tried during his matches in the T20 World Cup earlier in October in the UAE.

Former Indian cricketer and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was effusive in praise for veteran Indian bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, calling him India's "strike spinner" in Test cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar; R Ashwin

Talking to journalist Boria Majumdar on Backstage with Boria, Sachin admitted that Ashwin's tremendous use of variations has left him mighty impressed, one which he also tried during his matches in the T20 World Cup earlier in October in the UAE.

"Ashwin's experience and the way he is able to use his variations has really impressed me. And then we have Jayant, who is a back-up bowler to Ashwin, who is always going to be our strike spinner when it comes to Test cricket, but he has performed well in the T20 World Cup as well and showed us tremendous variations," said Sachin.

Sachin also hailed India's bowling attack for the impending three-Test series against South Africa, calling it "well-balanced" owing to presence of different types of pacers in the attack and admitted that it has the fire to pick all the 20 wickets in a Test match.

"It is a well-balanced attack. And the fast bowlers we have are all different types of fast bowlers. Bumrah comes at a different angle. Siraj has developed into a fantastic bowler. Shardul, upfront, likes to swing the ball. You have Umesh. Ishant's experience will be handy. And it all depends on that given day who is also fit. Because the number of games we have played and the number of injuries we have also had, we have couple of spinners missing out dur to injuries. But it is also about understanding the bowler's rhythm. If a bowler is playing well he should be ideally playing as much he can. And what I have seen, we have that fire in our bowling attack to pick 20 wickets," Sachin explained.

The veteran batsman also advised the pacers to bowl around the off stump and not go farther away from the fourth-stump line and make full use if the new ball in South African conditions. He wants the Indian attack to make full use of the first 25 overs of the innings pull their length back and bowl away from the batter.

"When it comes to hitting the right areas. I would say it depends a lot on the overhead conditions and the dampness in the surface. And if the ball is swinging I would encourage the bowlers to bowl around the off stump, but not outside off stump, not father away from the fourth-stump line as it makes batsman's life easy. He is also reading your wrist position and way the bowler is releasing the ball. So you don't want the batter to comfortably leave those deliveries. I would encourage the bowler that if you falter being in line, and getting hit a couple of times for a flick, I would be okay with that, but don't waste the new ball as it becomes really really important in South Africa. The first 25 overs are really important, when the seam is hard and it's sticking up, and when it flattens up a bit, I would encourage the bowlers to pull back the length a bit and bowl slightly farther away from the batter. And then depending on how much the pitch is helping, and who is batting, all those factors will come into play to decide right length and line. And that will vary from session to session," said Sachin.

The three-match series will begin from December 26 onwards with the opener in Centurion.