“Open-chested stance might help Sachin Tendulkar in facing incoming deliveries,” says former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin. He pointed out that the Master Blaster is having quite a tough time especially with these deliveries and with a big tour of South Africa lined up, it would be important for the Number Uno batsman to get his act right as he is going to be the trump card on those green-top pitches.
Azharuddin was quoted by Deccan Chronicle saying, "I believe that Tendulkar can opt for a chest-on stance which will enable him to play the pacers easily. With age reflexes get slower but you can wriggle out if you have the technique like Tendulkar has."
In the last 37 innings that batting maestro has taken guard, his defence has been breached 18 times out of which he has been bowled eight times and trapped leg before wicket 10 times.
Azhar threw some more light on the difficulty that Tendulkar might be facing with side-on stance and was quoted saying, "With side-on stance, you can see the delivery with only one eye but chest-on stance helps you observe with both eyes. This also helps one to cover the swing. I have a feeling that Tendulkar will find it easier to play the inswinger. Once he scores a few runs, he can again revert to his side-on stance."
Azhar himself carries a rich experience of 99 Tests and 334 ODIs and was always been famous for his wristy strokes. He recalled that how his batting techniques was corrected by Zaheer Abbas who advised him on changing his grip during India's tour of Pakistan in 1989.
"Initially, I found it painful as it hurt my thumb and my right hand would come off the handle. It took time but I was open to suggestion and it worked for me."
Azhar was happy to see the way Shikhar Dhawan has been smashing the ball out of the park but alerts him that he needs to carry this rollicking form to South Africa which is going to be the real-test of his character. India will be playing a Test series in South Africa at the end of the year.
Former Indian skipper was quoted by Deccan Herald saying, "Shikhar's real test will be against Dale Steyn in South Africa. He is a good player to watch as he has a high-on-handle stance. A lot like Allan Lamb or Mark Waugh -- the players of our generation. He is a compulsive puller but I saw a tendency of his to recede back to short balls during Champions Trophy in England. He should sort that out before Steyn and Morkel come calling."
The 50-year-old cricketer turned MP believes that Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara are going to be the key players for India in any match that play. Apart from then, Azhar expects that Rohit Sharma will carry his good form and will do justice to his talent in the near future.
He said, "I like those players who are always looking ways to score. Virat and Pujara, may be different in their approach but they have that quality. Rohit disappointed me slightly as I have huge expectations from him. He is phenomenally talented and I have not seen anyone with so much time to play his shots. They will shoulder the burden of Indian batting for minimum next 7-8 years."
As expected Hyderabadi batsmen refused to compare the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly who have been hailed as the couple of the best Indian captain.
He was quoted by DNA saying, "Sourav did well in his time, as he won number of Test matches outside the sub-continent. As far as Dhoni is concerned, results speak for itself. He has been successful and you can't argue against success. There was time when he lost eight successive Test matches and I felt he needed a break. But selectors and the Board had confidence and he has come back well."
The much improved fielding unit that Indian team flaunts in the World Cricket nowadays is something that makes this veteran batsman really happy. "In my time, we didn't have too many good fielders and thus there was no consistency. Now we have Virat, Raina, Jadeja in the inner circle and all of them are brilliant", Azhar said.
Apart from that he was impressed with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav who have been providing early breakthroughs which is very crucial in all the formats of the game.
Showering his accolades on this new-ball duo of Indian pace bowling, he added, "We have two potent new ball bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav. The consistency with which Bhuvi has produced initial breakthroughs is laudable. It's a good team that Dhoni has and I expect them to fare well consistently over a period of time.”