'Keep THESE 3 Things In Mind' - Sachin Advises Gill & Co. Ahead of England Tests

It’s been 18 years since India last won a bilateral Test series in England, and one of the biggest reasons for the team’s inability to win in the country has been their struggles against the moving ball. India have often bowled admirably in England, but they’ve not had the cutting edge with the bat in hand to walk away with a series win. 

There was an opportunity to seal a series win in 2022, but in the fifth and final Test at Edgbaston, a tame third-innings batting performance meant that the visitors surrendered the game, and, in turn, a series win.

India will be hoping to end the 18-year drought this time around, under the leadership of Shubman Gill, and the visitors will have their task cut out with the bat to complete a series win.

Few batters are more qualified to speak about English conditions than the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, and he gave the Indian batters some valuable words of advice ahead of the five-Test series.

“In England you always keep three things in mind when you play. First, the overhead conditions. Second the air quality and third the pitch condition. Each one of these factors influence how you should play,” Sachin told Revsportz. 

“There will be phases of play when you will find it very difficult to play shots. So you need to be careful and identify such phases. It is not a defensive act to leave balls. Rather, it is also a show of intent to be able to correctly leave balls and play for the right time. And then when the sun is out it is a beautiful track to bat on where the batters can score a lot of runs. That’s when you cash in and be positive and aggressive.”

Sachin asserted that batting in England is all about ‘accepting the challenge and staying out there’, battling the conditions at hand. 

“It is hot in Leeds at the moment and I am sure the groundstaff will make the pitch accordingly. They will keep grass and batting up front will be challenging. In England it is always the case,” Sachin said. 

“But then that’s where you need to stay positive in the mind and be patient. Accept the challenge and stay out there. You need to know your time will come and conditions will ease. And that’s what Test cricket is all about. There will always be challenges in Test cricket and good teams and good players need to deal with these challenges and overcome them. So my advice is stay positive and deal with the challenge. 

“And when I say stay positive, being defensive at times is also staying positive. Identify the areas where you can score runs. And play to the situation and the condition. That’s how you succeed in England.”