Sachin Tendulkar said Marnus Labuschagne’s footwork reminds him of himself. Tendulkar who is presently in Sydney now for the Bushfire relief match was asked about a modern-day batsman with whom he finds his similarity and Tendulkar spoke about Marnus Labuschagne.
Labuschagne has smashed 1459 runs in 14 Tests so far at an average of 63.43 with four hundred and eight fifties. His debut in Test cricket was historic as he was a concussion substitute for Steve Smith during the Ashes 2019. Tendulkar recalled the moment and said, “I happened to be watching the second Test match (Ashes) at Lord’s between England and Australia. When Steve Smith got injured, I saw Labuschagne’s second innings. I was sitting with my father-in-law. I saw Marnus get hit off the second ball from Jofra Archer and, post that, the 15 minutes he batted, I said, ‘This player looks special. There is something about him’.”
Tendulkar further went on to praise Labuschagne’s footwork and explained, “His footwork is so precise. So he would be the one I would say.” He added, “Footwork is not physical, it’s mental. If you’re not thinking positively in your mind, then your feet don’t move. That clearly indicated to me that this guy is mentally strong because if you’re not, your feet will not move. His footwork was incredible.”
Meanwhile the venue for Bushfire relief match was shifted to Melbourne from Sydney due to heavy rain forecast. Ricky Ponting XI and Adam Gilchrist XI will have a clash to raise money for the affected from the bushfire in Australia. Sachin Tendulkar is the coach of Ponting’s team while Gilchrist’s team will be handled by Tim Paine. Tendulkar said, “This is an alarming situation, it’s catastrophic — that’s an understatement,” said Tendulkar. “You see the number of lives it has affected, not only humans but also wildlife which sometimes people don’t talk about. That is equally important. I’m so happy I’m here in whatever way to support the cause, to raise money.”