Technology made life tough for batsmen: Sachin

Technology has changed the complexion of the game which means players now need to do their home work differently, said Sachin.

Sachin Tendulkar believes that advancement of technology has made the task of a batsman quite difficult.

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Technology has "changed the complexion of the game" which means players now need to do their home work differently, he said on Wednesday.

"Surely new things are coming up. There are different ways of doing your home work. Now with the help of technology, from software development to camera improvement, there have been changes and changes have been good," Tendulkar said.

The batting genius said bowlers around the world did not have technological facilities 20 years ago but they are now being able to figure out what the batsmen and the captain are trying to do.

"Overall, the whole complexion of the game has changed. Nothing stays the same in life. There are going to be further developments in technological aspects of cricket. You only try and make yourself better and try to explore different things."

Having tormented bowlers world over, Tendulkar said he only relied on his instincts and did not believe in pre-planning his innings.

"When you go out to bat, all the bowlers are trying hard to get you out. When they try very hard to do that, I basically go with the same frame of mind like what I have done for so many years now, obviously with little changes here and there."

"I go by my instincts - whether it is to play a shot or leave the ball. Going by one's instinct is the best form of batting."

Asked to name the five best bowlers and batsmen he had played with or against, he said it was difficult to shortlist them but added that there were a few players in every team whom he admired very much.

"Before I name anyone, I must say Sir Vivian Richards with whom I have not played against is my hero," he said as he proceeded to name his favourite cricketers.

"It is very tough to name the best past or present bowlers. I can name a few I have played with. I started in Pakistan in (1989) where I played against Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Abdul Qadir. In New Zealand Richard Hadlee, Danny Morrison — these two were top bowlers.

"When we played England, Angus Fraser who was really bowling well, Davon Malcolm, Chris Lewis and Ian Botham. In West Indies Ian Bishop, Coutney Walsh, Malcolm Marshall, Curtley Ambrose and the Benjamin brothers.

"In Australia obviously Craig McDermott, Bruce Reid, Merv Hughes, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee. From South Africa Alan Donald, Shane Pollock — all these guys were good in their own way — but it is very tough to name just five bowlers — not to forget Muralitharan who has taken more than 500 wickets."

"Among the Indians, we have Sunil Gavaskar. From the present lot I like to watch Sourav, Dravid, Laxman, Yuvi, Sehwag and Kaif... They are brilliant players. It is not easy to find such talented players and at the same time playing for the same team."

Asked whether the bowling standards had changed since his debut, the batting maestro said, "nobody becomes a great bowler overnight.

"Wasim Akram took 15 years to get his bearings. Similarly Waqar played 13-14 years, Imran also played 17-18 years. So no one becomes great overnight. There is a time frame for everything. There is always a start in one's career and if one keeps performing consistently, he becomes a great bowler. It is a process and no one can speed it up. It takes 'x' number of years and after those years the world starts recognising you as a good bowler. You've got to go step by step."

Tendulkar said Munaf Patel and Sairaj Bahutule were good bowlers. "Then there are a couple of guys like Sreesanth and Siddharth Trivedi who are also good, promising bowlers. I can speak more about the bowlers because they come and bowl to us often at camps.

"I have also heard about Tamil Nadu's Dinesh Karthik for his wicketkeeping and batting. Talents come out because of such healthy competitions."