MUMBAI: At a median 30 levels (C), it is been a slightly warm English summer this year. Warm enough to be thought to be an intolerable heatwave. The English have been rendered to abject struggling.
It's the idea of this very summer that are meant to be filling the Indian hearts - warming up for the five-Test series in opposition to England - with hope.
"It's quite warm here," says Sachin Tendulkar, playing his annual vacation within the Queen's country. And as the dialog strikes on to cricket, the batting legend is fast to add: "Weather's going to be a critical factor".
He's referring to the idea of surfaces enjoying a bigger role in seemingly warm prerequisites as in opposition to the predictable English formality of the ball tuning in with the nip within the air. "Surfaces will decide how active the spinners get. If this weather stays," says Tendulkar.
The former cricketer is fast to seek advice from the recent one-dayers where the spinners, he points out, "made the ball rip". In any such scenario, he expects the Indian batsmen to handle English spin better than the opposite direction spherical.
So, at the weather entrance, India - from Tendulkar's viewpoint - go into the Test series on an equal footing, if now not with a relative advantage. Having completed this year's Centre Court ritual at the Wimbledon, Tendulkar additional notes how "pitches don't have enough grass cover".
Weather alone, on the other hand, is not the all-determining issue India need to remember. That, particularly when heading to a rustic where 2011 and 2014 had been absolute failures. Drawing a balance between figuring out that the disaster of 2014 needs to be saved in thoughts and yet conserving in thoughts that it does not really subject right now is what the players need to understand, he says. In that, he makes an overly fascinating point. "It helps to remember how an earlier experience of the same tour was unpleasant (2014). Yet, what's also important to remember is that change is the only constant. In a different time, in a different setting, in relatively different conditions and a different set of players, it's again a new contest. You move on, set yourself a new challenge," he says.
"Benefit of hindsight," is what he touches upon, however with a distinct take. "The first basic rule (of an overseas tour): Respect conditions. It's the key. The first morning of the series, that first over, the first spell - that's always the key. It was the same in South Africa, it'll be the same in England," he says.
On the entire, the name of the game to succeeding on a chain like this one, he reiterates, is ready heading into it with a clean slate and at the similar time figuring out the script that was once jotted down the previous time.
"The question is how do you keep your mind blank? Drawing that balance between knowing what happened when you visited here the last time and at the same time, telling yourself that past is not what's going to matter right now is all about drawing the balance. That's the tricky thing. You got to know when to fill your mind up with all that you've learnt from your previous tour here and then got to know how to keep it (your mind) blank when you're here again, all fresh," says Tendulkar.
The curious case of India's batting bulwark Cheteshwar Pujara is a pertinent instance within the provide context. Pujara recently consumed 70-odd balls to get off the mark in a County game for Yorkshire, revealing that there can be a psychological block he's struggling with. (When asked), Tendulkar does admit "It's far too much. Again, I'm not trying to be critical here. It's good to be cautious, good to respect the conditions, but…," Tendulkar trails off.
The former India batsman does recognize Pujara's strength as No. three in Test cricket does rely on wearing down the opposition. That, he says, is a superb weapon within the batting armoury. "(But) There needs to be a good deal of balance between wearing down the opposition and tearing them down. Batsmen need to understand that balance," says Tendulkar.
It is because of this, Tendulkar insists, a batsman should not be sitting within the dressing room staring at his teammates take on prerequisites as he waits for his turn to stroll out. "Use your own discretion, follow your own judgement. When I used to be in the dressing room, waiting for my turn to walk out to bat, I never went by what was happening to the batsmen on the field," he says.
It's the idea of this very summer that are meant to be filling the Indian hearts - warming up for the five-Test series in opposition to England - with hope.
"It's quite warm here," says Sachin Tendulkar, playing his annual vacation within the Queen's country. And as the dialog strikes on to cricket, the batting legend is fast to add: "Weather's going to be a critical factor".
He's referring to the idea of surfaces enjoying a bigger role in seemingly warm prerequisites as in opposition to the predictable English formality of the ball tuning in with the nip within the air. "Surfaces will decide how active the spinners get. If this weather stays," says Tendulkar.
The former cricketer is fast to seek advice from the recent one-dayers where the spinners, he points out, "made the ball rip". In any such scenario, he expects the Indian batsmen to handle English spin better than the opposite direction spherical.
So, at the weather entrance, India - from Tendulkar's viewpoint - go into the Test series on an equal footing, if now not with a relative advantage. Having completed this year's Centre Court ritual at the Wimbledon, Tendulkar additional notes how "pitches don't have enough grass cover".
Weather alone, on the other hand, is not the all-determining issue India need to remember. That, particularly when heading to a rustic where 2011 and 2014 had been absolute failures. Drawing a balance between figuring out that the disaster of 2014 needs to be saved in thoughts and yet conserving in thoughts that it does not really subject right now is what the players need to understand, he says. In that, he makes an overly fascinating point. "It helps to remember how an earlier experience of the same tour was unpleasant (2014). Yet, what's also important to remember is that change is the only constant. In a different time, in a different setting, in relatively different conditions and a different set of players, it's again a new contest. You move on, set yourself a new challenge," he says.
"Benefit of hindsight," is what he touches upon, however with a distinct take. "The first basic rule (of an overseas tour): Respect conditions. It's the key. The first morning of the series, that first over, the first spell - that's always the key. It was the same in South Africa, it'll be the same in England," he says.
On the entire, the name of the game to succeeding on a chain like this one, he reiterates, is ready heading into it with a clean slate and at the similar time figuring out the script that was once jotted down the previous time.
"The question is how do you keep your mind blank? Drawing that balance between knowing what happened when you visited here the last time and at the same time, telling yourself that past is not what's going to matter right now is all about drawing the balance. That's the tricky thing. You got to know when to fill your mind up with all that you've learnt from your previous tour here and then got to know how to keep it (your mind) blank when you're here again, all fresh," says Tendulkar.
The curious case of India's batting bulwark Cheteshwar Pujara is a pertinent instance within the provide context. Pujara recently consumed 70-odd balls to get off the mark in a County game for Yorkshire, revealing that there can be a psychological block he's struggling with. (When asked), Tendulkar does admit "It's far too much. Again, I'm not trying to be critical here. It's good to be cautious, good to respect the conditions, but…," Tendulkar trails off.
The former India batsman does recognize Pujara's strength as No. three in Test cricket does rely on wearing down the opposition. That, he says, is a superb weapon within the batting armoury. "(But) There needs to be a good deal of balance between wearing down the opposition and tearing them down. Batsmen need to understand that balance," says Tendulkar.
It is because of this, Tendulkar insists, a batsman should not be sitting within the dressing room staring at his teammates take on prerequisites as he waits for his turn to stroll out. "Use your own discretion, follow your own judgement. When I used to be in the dressing room, waiting for my turn to walk out to bat, I never went by what was happening to the batsmen on the field," he says.
Sachin Tendulkar's advice to Team India: Respect the conditions
![Sachin Tendulkar's advice to Team India: Respect the conditions]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
July 22, 2018
Rating:
