Tendulkar plays big brother
Ashish Shukla
Everyone knows what Sachin Tendulkar
does with his bat to bowlers and records. Very few know how
much help he offers to his team-mates and their cricket.
Any number of his young teammates on this tour are
spending a lot of time with the best batsman in the world and
putting that advice into practice, often profitably.
Shiv Sunder Das got over his opening blues with a century
against CFX Academy on Saturday. He gratefully acknowledged the
technical advice that Tendulkar had shared with him during
nets.
"He told me a few things about my foot movement and body
position in the nets," said the little opener from Orissa. "I
put it in practice in the middle and had immediate results."
Time and again Tendulkar had taken Das aside in the nets
and given him practice against rising deliveries. Das had
landed in no-man's land on a few occasions against bouncers
aimed at his body by Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie in the
recent series against the Aussies.
It had been saving Das from injuries but not his wicket.
Tendulkar then adviced him how to drop his bat and not
instinctively raise it in front of his eyes. Also, how he
could tuck these bouncers behind square for some runs.
Das' partner Sadagopan Ramesh is another case in point.
Ramesh has this tendency to reach for the balls. On these
bouncy wickets, it is the surest way to doom.
"In this innings (of 42) against CFX, I was committing
this mistake in the first hour. Sachin offered a fairly
valuable piece of advice. He told me how I should look to play
shots off my pads and also those cuts behind square. I had a
far better stay thereafter."
Vice-captain Rahul Dravid says he seeks out Tendulkar
whenever he feels the latter could be of help. "I check him
out on little things, when I feel he could offer a
valuable piece of advice".
The openers alone are not singing Tendulkar's praises.
Wicketkeeper and his state-mate Samir Dighe is also full of
praise for the maestro.
"He is always there when you need him. I remember the
Chennai Test, my debut game. When I went into bat in the
second innings, Tendulkar asked me to wear elbow guard.
Usually I never go for it. But I was so lucky I heeded his
advice.
"When I went in, we needed some 40-odd runs for victory.
As we inched closer, Gillespie started throwing bouncers. One
such delivery hit my elbow guard and went to fine leg for two
runs. The way that Test went, those two runs were absolutely
critical. What is more I could have injured myself and ejected
out from the middle," Dighe recalls.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is a die-hard Tendulkar fan
too. "Anyone who plays this game, I think, is a fan of this
little master".
The 'Turbanator', who tore apart the mighty Aussies in the
recent series, acknowledges he learnt how to bowl the new ball
from Tendulkar.
"I also seek him out to test myself in the nets, as often
as I can. I want to test myself and do my best when bowling to
him. It is a great confidence booster if I do well against
him," said Harbhajan.
On Sunday morning, before the start of the second day's play
against CFX Academy, Tendulkar sought out Ramesh, V V S Laxman
and Hemang Badani for catching practice in the slips.
He decided to make it interesting by giving grades to the
catches the three picked: A for the best and B and C for the
next grade of efforts.
After a few hits, Ramesh indicated Tendulkar was hitting
spliced catches too hard at him. But Tendulkar would have
nothing of it as he smashed the next ball with a full swish of
the bat and the ball rocketed behind the slips and thudded
into the sightscreen.
Ramesh raised his hands in mock surrender and later
admitted it was tough but "valuable practice."
Any discussion on the matter and Tendulkar shrugs his
shoulders in his characteristic manner and is close to being
embarrassed.
"I only try to do what I observe, the little things I
notice," the champ said modestly.
Mail Cricket Editor